Joy to the world

The migrant ministry he put up in 2003 is based in Taichung, a large city in central-western Taiwan, yet Fr. Joy Tajonera brings hope and joy to the world. This is because the Filipino priest’s Ugnayan Migrant Ministry not only caters to distressed overseas Filipino workers. The center, too, is as open as the sky to displaced migrant workers from other countries who can seek refuge there and call it home for a month or two. Or more—until they find another job in the island city.

“Ugnayan means being connected, in communication, in community, in the bayanihan spirit of the Filipinos helping one another in times of need, reaching out to one another, especially in a foreign land,” Fr. Joy begins. He started Ugnayan Migrant Ministry 23 years ago when he returned to Taiwan after his presbyter ordination in Maryknoll, New York, in 2002.

“It was formed because when I was a Maryknoll seminarian, I was sent to Taiwan in 1998 for my Overseas Training Program, and the OFW El Shaddai community invited me to accompany them in their pastoral needs in Tanzi District, Taichung.” 

At the center, more than his official title of “founder” and “director,” Fr. Joy is called “Tatay” by everyone who has secured help from Ugnayan.

According to Fr. Joy, Ugnayan Migrant Center and Shelter is a home for Filipino migrants and other nationalities in Taiwan. There are now 28 OFWs and one worker from Eswatini housed in the shelter. The center has also been a place of refuge for migrants from Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, China, Russia, and Germany.

There are 171,191 OFWs in Taiwan, according to a report from its Ministry of Labor. Most of them are factory workers in metal, textile, rubber, and paper companies. There are about 30,000 OFWs in Taichung.

“Ugnayan does not receive subsidies from the Taiwan government, but we work closely with various Taiwan government agencies to help migrants in distress. Ugnayan is ‘open’ to all our kababayans in Taiwan. We serve regardless of their place of work or residence,” says Fr. Joy.

The Ugnayan Migrant Center and Shelter in Taichung provides free room and board. The subsidy to maintain the mission intact and rolling, without delay or derail, comes from the Maryknoll Fathers in Taiwan. The generous Maryknoll congregation has its headquarters in New York.

A unique feature of Ugnayan is that it employs no regular staff. Those who are under the care of Ugnayan are the ones who run the show—from preparing food for the body to helping Fr. Joy prepare for the Mass for the migrant workers’ food for the soul. The women stay in the church while the men go home to another building whose rental fee is shouldered by the Maryknoll congregation.

OFWs availing themselves of Ugnayan’s charitable acts include those who lost their employment and are looking for a new job; those who have pending cases from their employer, like violation of contracts or underpayment; those whose work is too difficult, dangerous, or unhealthy; those who are under investigation for a money scam and have a hold departure order; and those who are waiting to go back home. 

While they are at the shelter, Fr. Joy created vocational courses for them like photography, cosmetology, computer literacy, and sewing. Ugnayan also has a bakery, manned and operated by the men in the shelter, that sells the yummiest pandesal in the whole of Taichung. And because he wants a total experience for those who are in the shelter, there is also a set of entertainment programs for them like singing contests.

The center is also open to OFWs who are receiving medical care, like “the eight OFWs (seven women and one man) receiving chemo for their cancer who are now housed in the shelter.”

“We do our best to assist them to get the best medical treatment in Taiwan. Taiwan’s health care is No. 1 in the world.”

Ugnayan, says Fr. Joy, does not make any direct referral to Taiwanese employers to help find a job for those at the center but “we reach out to other migrants and ask them for help to let us know of any vacancies or hiring that they know of to recommend those who are staying with us.”

Fr. Joy adds, “Every Sunday, I make regular announcements about the needs and rights of the foreign workers in Taiwan. Networking, reaching out to the community, is one of our missions.” 

Ugnayan’s kindness is directly anchored on the generosity of the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers, Fr. Joy says.

“Maryknoll also has an advocacy for the labor and human rights of the migrants. We work with other church groups and NGOs to engage in dialogue with the Taiwan government and sending countries to improve, protect, and enforce labor laws in Taiwan.”

“We are a Catholic Society of Apostolic Life of missionary priests and brothers who, for over 100 years, have modeled ourselves after the compassion and love of Jesus Christ in reaching out to those in the world who are most in need,” says Fr. Joy, who serves as the Asia Regional Superior of Maryknoll in Taiwan.

“Maryknoll answers this call to mission by sharing the good news of Jesus Christ to those who have not heard it, and by ministering to the hungry, sick, and marginalized in more than 20 countries across the globe.”

“Our work involves direct evangelization and various pastoral ministries, healthcare, education, migrants, refugees, agricultural and vocational training, HIV/AIDS ministry, disaster relief, and many more in service as heralds of God’s love and hope in the poorest areas around the world,” said the priest who finished his Master of Arts at the Maryknoll School of Theology in Maryknoll, New York, and Master of Divinity at the Catholic Theological Union (CTU) in Hyde Park, Chicago. Pope Leo, Fr. Joy proudly says, is a graduate of CTU.

Before becoming a priest, a vocation that took long discernment on his part, Fr. Joy went to FEU for a degree in Political Science and Ateneo for some law courses. He was working in Manila and then New York before entering the seminary. He was born in Manila, grew up in Mamburao, Occidental Mindoro, and moved to the US in 1982.

His presence is already a safe sanctuary for the migrant workers in Taiwan. And the Ugnayan shelter he put up in 2003 is not only a ministry but a salvation for those the center has helped.

“We do good for others because that is expected of us,” Fr. Joy Tajonera concludes.

Joy to the world—that’s what he is.