Catch Your Rainbow
By Peter Wong - Cofounder of Rainbow Missions

"Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind" (Gen 9:14 to 15).

On a hot summer day of 2004 in Western China, a blind man was pushing another man in a wheel chair weaving and dodging between hurrying traffic and people. As they negotiated their way, many eye-browses raised and mouths dropped. Shouldn't the handicapped stay at home? Wait! They carried such joy and hope on their faces, as if they were emanating a colorful rainbow. Weren’t they supposed to be doomed because of their handicap? Who are they? They are myself (Peter Wong) and Bosco Chan, the two founders of Rainbow Missions - a Seattle-based non-profit organization dedicated to serving the less fortunate in China.

When I was little, I remember my father used to drive us to the New Territories for outings. We would love it when it rained because we knew we would catch a rainbow or two during the boring ride. Little did I know that my rainbow would be replaced by darkness at the age of 14 when I was afflicted with glaucoma, adjustment disorder, low self esteem, a sense of uselessness and hopelessness, and much more. And yet, little did I know that I would one day work at Microsoft to serve individuals with disabilities through technology. And then, to catch rainbows again.

Bosco worked in the travel business for a long time. Little did he know that he would work in the Accessible Technology Group of Microsoft without a college degree. And little did he know that he would travel again, this time deep into China to serve the less fortunate.

In the winter of 2003, a social worker from China visited Bosco and I at Microsoft. She challenged us to think about working side-by-side in this field and encouraged us to bring our knowledge of assistive technology to benefit those in need in our mother country, China. We were not sure, but we decided to at least go and examine the needs.

In June 2004, right before Bosco hopped onto the plane, he broke his ankle and had to be temporarily on a wheel chair for the first time in his life. When he was at an airport in China, he was happy to find an accessible bathroom. Unfortunately, the door to the toilet opened inward. He could wheel himself in, but he could not close the door. Bosco experienced first hand how 60 million individuals with disabilities in China struggled through life. No one would hire a man with a burnt scar on his face. You cannot enter college if you do not meet a certain height requirement, let alone disability. Many rural families already have hard time supporting their children through school. Career counseling is super simple for blind children; they are either a masseur or they sit on their bum. No wonder 80% of the orphans in the welfare home we visited were disabled. They are often seen as a burden to society.

Rainbow Missions serves and supports underprivileged and/or disabled individuals in China. Rainbow Missions also serves and supports the supporting network of these individuals. These supporting networks could be their family members, teachers, health care professionals, local counselors, assistive technology developers and institutions that support these individuals. Rainbow Missions seeks to bring faith, hope and love into China. The underprivileged groups Rainbow Missions serves in China include, but are not limited to, individuals with disabilities and orphans.

Below are some examples of what Rainbow Missions has been doing in China in the past couple of years:

• Send assistive technology software and hardware as gifts to the School For The Blind.
  
• Financially sponsor and mentor students (from extremely poor family) of the School For The Blind.
  
• Send medical professionals (including occupational therapists, doctors and nurses) to provide medical services to the underprivileged.
  
• Send assistive technology professionals to provide lectures in technical colleges and help them to develop assistive technology that meet the needs of Chinese individuals with disability.
  
• Send professional counselors to provide lectures in institutions and services to the underprivileged.
  
• Send professionals to provide consultation to local workers who serve the underprivileged.
  
• Send children service teams to provide services at the summer/winter camps for the underprivileged.
  
• Send Rainbow Missions officers to meet with Chinese officials to bring public awareness for the underprivileged in China.
  
• Drive and participate in international assistive technology conferences in China.
  
• Send Rainbow Missions officers to explore more opportunities in various places in China that Rainbow Missions can provide services in accordance with our vision.

Dark clouds may loom over the land, but there is always hope because there are rainbows. One end of the rainbow connects to Seattle and the other end of the rainbow extends into the Western part of China. Where there is sorrow, may there be joy; where there is hatred, may there be love; where there is discrimination, may there be respect; where there are dark clouds, may there be rainbow. Would you like to catch a rainbow or two with us?