漢娜·泰勒：幫無家可歸者找到歸宿的暖心女孩

By+Neale+McDevitt

A mother driving with her five-year-old daughter in the backseat takes a wrong turn and ends up in a dark back alley， forever altering the young girl's life. It sounds like the sad beginning of dramatic film1） but quite the opposite is true—this is a real-life story.

The little girl was Hannah Taylor， now a 19-year-old Arts undergraduate2） finishing her first year at McGill3）. Taylor remembers that fateful day like it was yesterday. "It was December in Winnipeg so it was freezing cold and snow covered. I looked out my window and I saw a man searching through a garbage dumpster for food，" she says. "I asked my mother why he was doing that and she said he had to do that to eat."

"I had never seen homelessness and I was struck by it，" she says. "My five-year-old heart just wouldn't let it go."

And when Taylor says she wouldn't let it go， she means it. She questioned her parents almost daily for a year. Why did people have to live in the street？ Where did they sleep？ Wasn't there enough food and homes for everyone？ Why didn't anyone help？

"I worried about this man and， as I learned more about homelessness in Winnipeg and in Canada， I began to worry about everyone living in those conditions."

一個媽媽開車，后座坐著她五歲的女兒，她轉錯了彎，結果開到了一個黑乎乎的后巷里，從此改變了這個小女孩的一生。這聽起來像是劇情片傷感的開頭，但恰恰相反，這是真的，是一個真實的故事。

這個小女孩就是漢娜·泰勒，今年19歲，現在（編注：英文原文發表于2015年4月）是麥吉爾大學藝術系的一名學生，即將讀完大一。泰勒還記得那意義重大的一天，仿佛那就是昨日?！爱敃r是12月的溫尼伯（譯注：加拿大的一個城市），所以冷極了，到處覆蓋著白雪。我從車窗往外看，看到一個男人在一個垃圾箱里翻找食物，”她說，“我問媽媽那個男人為什么要這么做，她說他必須要那樣做才有東西吃?！?/p>

“我以前從沒見過無家可歸的人，那一幕讓我深受觸動，”她說，“當時才五歲的我就是沒辦法忘掉這一幕?！?/p>

而當泰勒說她沒辦法忘掉這一幕時，她是認真的。此后的一年里，她幾乎每天都會向爸爸媽媽提出疑問。為什么有的人不得不住在大街上？他們睡在哪里？沒有足夠的食物和住所提供給每個人嗎？為什么沒有一個人幫助他們呢？

“我很擔心這個男人，隨著我對溫尼伯和加拿大無家可歸者的現狀有了更多的了解，我開始擔心處在這種條件下的每一個人?！?/p>

1. dramatic film： 劇情片

2. undergraduate [??nd??ɡr?d?u?t] n. 大學本科生

3. McGill： 麥吉爾大學，簡稱麥吉爾，位于蒙特利爾，是加拿大最古老的高等學府，建校近兩百年以來一直在國際上享有盛譽，被譽為“加拿大哈佛”。

4. set the wheels in motion： 使某事開始運轉、實施

5. tuck （sb.） in： 把……的被子掖好

6. close to one's heart： 為某人所重視關心；為某人所愛

7. ladybug [?le?dib?ɡ] n. 瓢蟲

8. good luck charm： 能帶來好運的小飾品。charm [t?ɑ?m] n. 隨身護符；（手鏈或手鐲上的）吉祥小飾物

Set the wheels in motion4）

One night， Taylor—who had just turned six—asked her mother another question about homelessness as she was being tucked in5） for the night. "My mom said to me， 'You know， Hannah， maybe if you do something about it， your heart won't feel so bad.'"

And that set the wheels in motion， wheels that， 13 years later， show no signs of stopping.

Taylor did a presentation about homelessness to her Grade One class and organized a campaign to collect food， coffee and clothing for a local shelter. To her delight， her classmates matched her enthusiasm. "I saw that people wanted to help—they just don't know how to start，" says Taylor. "In the case of my Grade One class， when they were given the opportunity to help， everyone immediately came up with their own great ideas."

But for Taylor， this was not a one-and-done project. Encouraged by the success of her first move， she kept at it， raising both money for and awareness for a cause that was so close to her heart6）. Over the following years， she met with business leaders and politicians， flew around the country for speaking engagements and collected money in jars decorated with ladybugs7）—her good luck charms8）.

Jars of money become a Foundation

In 2004， Taylor had raised enough money to launch The Ladybug Foundation， a non-profit charitable foundation that supports other charities across Canada in providing food， shelter and support for the homeless. She was eight. Today， Taylor is the CEO of the Lady Bug Foundation， which to date， has raised over $4 million for dozens of frontlinesoup kitchens9）， emergency shelters， food banks10） and youth shelters.

Also in 2004， Taylor founded her second registered charity—The Ladybug Foundation Education Program， a kindergarten to grade 12 classroom resource designed to teach kids how to make a change in their own community， country and throughout the world. "When I speak at schools， I see kids have that light bulb moment11） where they say 'Hey if she can do it， so can I'. We don't give kids enough credit， but they do care and they are driven to help change things. They just need the tools."

And Taylor knows that， in order to make a change， the best tool one can have is knowledge. "Education—formal and experiential—is the key，" she says. "That's why so much of the work we do with the Ladybug Foundation is to raise awareness. Before people can do， they need to know." Which made McGill the logical place for Taylor to pursue her studies.

Since starting at McGill last September， Taylor has had to reduce her Ladybug Foundation activities somewhat in order to concentrate on her studies—although she has still managed to do a few speaking engagements via Skype12）. Having declared her major in International Development， States and Governance， her plan is to get a Law degree. Not surprisingly， she wants to work in human rights.

Find your passion

In talking with Taylor about her life's work， one can see that this is something she needs to do. "Everyone has to find something that they are passionate about， whether it is being a fantastic father， or working for the environment or loving your job as a lawyer，" says Taylor. "My passion is helping people， especially homeless people. It's just something my heart made me do and it's like breathing—it doesn't stop. Some people spend their lives trying to find that passion but I got lucky and I found it when I was five."

That passion is never more obvious than when Taylor discusses the people she has met in her coast-to-coast travels.

She talks about watching Brian， a homeless man at a Winnipeg shelter， give his new vest—that he had just received for Christmas—to another man who was extremely upset. "He said 'You need this more than me，'" says Taylor. "Despite how hard life has been on him， he was so generous and kind. How can you not be inspired by that？"

Then there was the time Taylor took a tour of a Toronto children's shelter and ended up hanging out with the kids for much of the day. "I was getting ready to leave and this one tiny girl who had been there the whole time but hadn't said anything stepped out from behind the crowd and gave me a hug. She said 'Before today I thought nobody loved me. Now I know you do'."

And then there is Rick. "Rick is a former residential school13） student who was homeless for about 25 years. He now has a place to stay and is retired from a job， so he's doing well，" she says. "He is so wise and special and kind and loving. When things get especially tough or busy， I call him and we talk and it reminds me how much work like this matters. I'm lucky to have such an amazing friend."

Hannah Taylor says it doesn't take much to help a homeless person. "Give them some change， buy them a coffee， just say 'Hello. How are you？' Even the smallest gestures acknowledge that they are people like us."

開始行動

一天晚上，媽媽在睡前幫她掖被子時，那時剛滿六歲的泰勒又問了媽媽一個關于無家可歸者的問題?！皨寢尭艺f，‘你知道嗎，漢娜，也許你為他們做點什么，你的心就會好受一點?！?/p>

正是這句話讓漢娜行動起來，而且這場行動在13年之后依然沒有要停止的跡象。

泰勒給自己一年級的同班同學做了一場關于無家可歸者的報告，還為當地一家收容所組織了一場募捐活動，募集食物、咖啡和衣服。讓她高興的是，同學們對這件事的熱情和自己不相上下?！拔铱吹酱蠹蚁胍斐鲈?，他們只是不知道要如何開始，”泰勒說，“就我的一年級同學們而言，當他們得到機會去幫助別人時，他們每個人都立刻想出了很棒的主意?！?/p>

不過對于泰勒而言，這可不是一個做一次就完事兒的項目。她被自己第一步所取得的成功所激勵，繼續致力于此，不僅為自己如此關心的這項事業籌集善款，還在提高公眾對這項事業的認識。在接下來的幾年里，她與商業領袖、政界人士會面，飛往加拿大各地參加演講，并用一個個印有瓢蟲（她的幸運符）的罐子來募集資金。

小錢罐變成了基金會

2004年，泰勒籌集了足夠的資金來創辦瓢蟲基金會。這是一個非營利性慈善基金會，為加拿大其他慈善組織提供支持，幫助它們為無家可歸者提供食物、住所和幫助。那一年，她八歲。如今，泰勒是瓢蟲基金會的首席執行官，該基金會迄今為止已經為幾十家最有影響的施粥所、緊急避難所、食物銀行和青少年收容所籌集了超過400萬美元的資金。

也是在2004年，泰勒創辦了她的第二個登記在案的慈善項目——瓢蟲基金會教育項目，這是針對從幼兒園到12年級學生的一個課堂資源，旨在教孩子們如何讓自己的社區、國家和整個世界有所改變?！爱斘以趯W校里演講時，我發現孩子們會有那種靈光閃現的時刻——他們會說‘嘿，如果她可以做到，我也可以。我們沒有給予孩子們足夠的信任，但他們的確是在意的，也因而受到鼓舞想要幫助改變。他們只是需要工具而已?！?/p>

而且泰勒明白，為了能使情況有所改觀，一個人能擁有的最好的工具就是知識?！敖逃还苁钦降倪€是經驗得來的——是關鍵，”她說，“這也是為什么我們在瓢蟲基金會所做的這么多工作都是為了提高公眾的認識。在人們可以行動之前，他們需要了解?！边@讓泰勒去麥吉爾大學求學深造變得順理成章。

自從去年9月開始在麥吉爾大學學習之后，泰勒不得不稍稍減少了自己在瓢蟲基金會的活動，以便專注于自己的學業，不過她還是設法通過Skype完成了幾場演講。在選擇了國際發展、國家與治理作為專業之后，她的計劃是拿到法學學位。她想要從事人權方面的工作，這不足為奇。

找到你熱愛的事情

在與泰勒聊她終生的事業時，你可以看得出來這是她需要去做的事情?！懊總€人都得找到自己熱愛的事情，不管是做一個了不起的老爸，還是致力于環保，抑或是熱愛你的律師工作，”泰勒說，“我熱愛幫助別人，特別是無家可歸的人。這只是我的心讓我去做的事情，它就像呼吸一樣不會停止。有的人窮盡一生試圖找到自己熱愛的事情，但是我很幸運在五歲時就找到了它?！?/p>

每當泰勒談起自己在加拿大東西海岸的旅行中所遇到的人時，這種熱愛表露得最為明顯。

她談到自己看到溫尼伯收容所的一個無家可歸者布賴恩把他的新馬甲（這是他剛剛收到的圣誕節禮物）送給了另一個人，那個人十分沮喪?！八f，‘你比我更需要這件馬甲，”泰勒說，“盡管他的生活一直如此艱難，他仍然這么慷慨、友善。你怎能不被這樣的事情所鼓舞呢？”

還有一次，泰勒去多倫多的一家兒童收容所參觀，結果一天的大部分時間都在跟那里的孩子們一起玩兒?！拔耶敃r已經準備要走了，結果一個一直都在那兒但卻一句話都沒說過的小女孩從人群后面走上前來，給了我一個擁抱。她說，‘在今天之前，我覺得沒有人愛我?，F在我知道你是愛我的?！?/p>

還有里克?！袄锟艘郧笆且凰乃迣W校的學生，大概有25年都無家可歸?，F在，他有個地方住，還剛剛退休，所以他過得還不錯，”她說，“他非常睿智、友善、有愛且與眾不同。當工作變得太棘手或太多時，我就會給他打電話聊一聊，這樣的對話提醒我這種工作有多么重要。我很幸運擁有一位這么棒的朋友?！?/p>

漢娜·泰勒說幫助一個無家可歸的人并不需要做太多?！敖o他們一點零錢，給他們買杯咖啡，或者只是跟他們說一句‘嗨，你好嗎？即使是最微不足道的表示也是在承認他們是像我們一樣的人?！?/p>

9. soup kitchen： （救濟窮人的）施粥所，施食處

10. food bank： （向窮人或無家可歸者提供食品的）食物銀行，主要為經濟有困難人士提供暫時的膳食支援，鼓勵他們自力更生。一批熱心于慈善事業的志愿者自發組織起來，把超市中那些即將過期但又賣不出去的食品收集起來，免費發放給那些忍饑挨餓的街頭窮人。此外，連鎖快餐店、酒店及食品供應商也會捐贈熟食、干糧及餐券等。

11. light bulb moment： 靈感的突然閃現；靈光一現

12. Skype： 一款即時通訊軟件，具備通話、文字聊天、視頻聊天、傳輸文件、多人語音會議等功能。

13. residential school： 寄宿制學校