Meet Our Intern Eunice Wong!
Eunice is a musician and music therapist who has worked with refugees for the last 7 years. She currently manages blog content for Misión de Caridad.
Tell us a little about yourself.
My name is Eunice and I’m from Malaysia, a country in Southeast Asia. I’m a musician and music therapist by training. However, I’ve also worked for several years in the humanitarian sector, serving refugees and other displaced persons from around the world. Most of my experience with refugees has been through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in Malaysia. Many asylum seekers come to Malaysia in search of safety, better opportunities, or to temporarily transit to another destination. I’ve met many refugees and asylum seekers that way - from Myanmar, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Palestine, Syria, Somalia, Sudan, and other places.
I chose to study music therapy because I want to support refugees and asylum seekers in the area of mental health. A lot of services target the material needs of food, water, shelter - and all that is important. But many people who are displaced carry wounds from trauma that can get in the way of rebuilding life. Psychosocial services are not always available, and also, can be more stigmatized. But music is one way to bypass those challenges because so many cultures already use it for self-healing, community bonding, lamenting and all that. I believe it has untapped potential.
Music was Eunice’s pathway into working with refugees. After earning a music performance degree, she began studying the music of displaced peoples and was fascinated by the way music is often used to create a sense of belonging in a foreign land.
How did you first get interested in refugee work?
I was 14 when I first met a refugee. He was a Rohingya boy from Myanmar whose family had been displaced to Malaysia. He was much younger than I was, probably 9 or 10, but he had good English and could articulate what it meant for him to not be a citizen of any country. I remember noting that this child had a very different life from mine.
I then had a similar experience again in my early 20s. I got to know a pair of sisters who had fled their country of origin because of political persecution. They were around my age - so it struck me how similar they were to me, yet how different their life circumstances were. I would take them out around Kuala Lumpur, as they had no car, and they would cook desi South Indian food for me. They were soooo funny, so clever, so talented… but they had no option to pursue their dreams of higher education, career or romance. As refugees they were stuck in legal limbo - waiting for resettlement to the USA so that they could resume “normal life”.
Eunice knew she wanted to work with refugees after spending time in Iraq with refugee children who had been displaced by ISIS.
How did those friendships impact you?
It wasn’t an overnight decision to start working with refugees. I was still studying music and figuring out life post-graduation. It was only much later during my first trip to Iraq that the lightbulb turned on and I knew… THIS is what I want to be doing.
During that trip, I met children that had been freshly displaced by ISIS and the Syrian Civil war. I was there to conduct a music program for these kids, many of whom had lost family members or were still waiting to hear news about them. None of them were in school. I remember standing in the middle of a dirt road, holding a small drum, and doing a bunch of action songs and games - with a small crowd of delighted children in front of me.
Eunice first saw the healing power of music while spending time with Yazidi children who had been displaced by ISIS.
But the biggest moment happened when my team I were preparing to leave. The children gathered around us - stopped us in our tracks - and began singing a song which I had never heard before. I later found out it was a traditional children’s song about a turkey and that it was the first time their mothers had heard the children singing it since they were forced from their homes. I remember feeling as if they were trying to tell me something in that moment. Something about the music we did together gave them permission to sing again - which probably hadn’t happened in awhile because their community was still in mourning.
Someone on that team later said: In the past we brought blankets and food and shelter. This time we brought joy. I was told later that the aid workers serving that community began expanding their services after that to include arts and mental health support. That made me very happy!
At Misión de Caridad’, our Mexican team on the ground are the experts on the local culture and needs of the communities we serve.
What drew you to Misión de Caridad’s work?
It’s holistic. On the surface, the work seems very practical - food, medical, water, building a roof, and things like that. But Jean and Francisco are always clear that these aren’t the only needs of the people we serve. People often need these practical needs to be met before they can tackle their emotional, mental, spiritual needs more adequately.
I love that it is an organization that came out of a strong friendship and remains very relational to this day. When you are in a relationship with a person you are prepared to meet people’s needs at more than one level. The Misión de Caridad team doesn’t want to only give hand outs. They want to journey with people long term until they reach a place of self-sufficiency.
I also love how dependent this organization is on its local Mexican team. It can be difficult to avoid the foreign savior complex in this kind of work - it happens all the time despite the best intentions. At Misión de Caridad , Francisco and his team are the ones who know the culture, the terrain, the needs best - and they lead the way in developing our programs. They are the heart and soul of what we do.
Eunice loves sharing her knowledge and stories of refugees. In 2019, she hosted an interactive exhibition in Malaysia which drew over 9000 visitors in 14 days.
What is your role at Misión de Caridad?
I love telling stories about refugees. Some of the people I’ve met have gone through things no human being should ever have to endure. Yet they are so courageous, so resilient, and so kind. It blows my mind.
At Misión de Caridad I get to retell some of these stories and bring some of the people that we serve a little closer to the hearts and minds of our supporters. In a way, I hope to humanize refugees and show the world what amazing people they are. Ideally, I wish every refugee gets a platform to tell their own story. But at the same time, I think that those of us who “bear witness” to the others’ pain and suffering also have a responsibility to bring more awareness to their situation.
Eunice hopes to humanize refugees and bring more awareness to their experiences by retelling their stories.
What’s next for you?
I am organizing a benefit concert for Misión de Caridad this Sunday to support their ongoing medical work at the US-Mexico border. There is so little healthcare access for folks living in those communities, so refugees who end up at the border often struggle to find good doctors. In just a short time however, Misión de Caridad has been able to bring in doctors, dentists, nutritionists, and health experts to assess the health needs of the community. We have a dedicated Mexican team on the ground carrying out fitness programs and growing interest from the local population. It’s really exciting!
I want to continue writing stories for Misión de Caridad while developing my music therapy practice with refugees. My immediate goals are to improve my language skills (Arabic and Kurdish) so that I can better communicate with the people I want to serve.
Interested in finding out more about Misión de Caridad? Check these out!
Meet Our Co-founder Francisco Ortega
The Whatsapp text that launched an organization
To learn more about Misión de Caridad’s programs, click on the links below:
Medical / Dental / Vision Fair