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標題: Re: [採訪] Taiwan News周刊社團報導出來了
時間: Tue Apr 8 23:05:16 2008

Learning the meaning of volunteer service through the MOE project


By Cliff Yang
Taiwan News, Supplement Writer
Page 8
2008-03-31 01:52 AM

The day started at six o'clock in the morning with an Indian breakfast including roti prata and tarik with other international volunteers at the missionary charity established by Mother Teresa. Then Chang Jer-Chen, a junior student in the Department of Geography at National Taiwan University (NTU), began his half-day of volunteer service by heading to the volunteer institution, Daya Dan ('gift of compassion' in English) on a local bus. Daya Dan cares for mentally or physically challenged children aged five to by Taiwan's Ministry of Education (MOE) for two consecutive years, and he knew his first assignment in this morning was to help these children wash up. Later Chang worked with the Sisters of Daya Dan to clean the toilets; other female volunteers were responsible for laundry.

As Chang took care of these children, he soon realized that he faced two challenging tasks: taking them on a picnic, and playing with toys with them. Since some of the children were physically disabled, he had to pay special attention to their safety. Some of them might climb a ladder to the two-foot tall fence and dance on top, while others might accidentally swallow a toy. Some children suffered from brain development disorders like autism, impairing their social interaction and communication.

Chang and other volunteers were responsible for caring for these children during outdoor picnics. After a morning of hard work, the high noon sun reminded all the people in the charity institution to get ready for lunch, which was usually prepared by the volunteers and locals. That's pretty much what they did for volunteer service each day. Chang and other international volunteers would usually arrange off-site tours to experience different cultures in the afternoon. Then during the evening Chang would hold a meeting to share the day's experiences with his partners.

Chang traveled to India from January 22 to February 5 along with fourteen other members from the World Volunteers Society (世界志工社, or WVS) at NTU. Lin Tai-Fu, the first president of the society, proposed the idea of gathering those who are interested in volunteer services in 2006 and established the society the next year. Coincidentally, in 2007 a subsidiary of the MOE encouraged higher education to organize international volunteer groups to raise young people's awareness of current affairs. "Students can experience different cultures by serving international minority groups," said Minister of Education Tu Cheng-sheng. "It can also help to improve Taiwan's international reputation."

During the 2006 summer break, NTU together with Fu Jen Catholic University, Taipei Medical University, National Yang Ming University, China Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University and Tzu Chi University, subsidized by the MOE, sent twenty-seven volunteer groups formed by students to India, Malawi, the Solomon Islands, Cambodia, Myanmar, Nepal and other developing or underdeveloped countries that are short of infrastructure and medical resources. During this winter break, the MOE helped 76 students including Chang Jer-Chen from four universities attending the volunteer project.

Chang, now the president of WVS, told Taiwan News he has taken part in the project in India for two consecutive years and was thus responsible for the entire process of forming the team including the recruitment of members, organizing lectures and other preparations prior to this trip. "I was surprised by the great number of students truly motivated to participate in the project. Yet we found many applicants to join the project are motivated for different reasons. A few of them sought the opportunity to experience a different culture; and some intended to polish their resume with the volunteer work," Chang mentioned.

Chen Wei-Di, a freshman from the Department of Political Science, has shown his determination to serving minorities through volunteer services in Da-an Charity (大安之家) that takes care of homeless elders, and at Taipei City Hospital. Even though most of his classmates have opted for diplomatic careers, Chen plans to work for non-governmental organizations after the completion of his undergraduate studies. This thought was a factor in his signing up for the trip.

Before heading for India, Chen and other new members attended several lectures held by the WVS. Several international relations scholars such as Chang Chun-Lin, vice president of the International Volunteer Association Taiwan, and Professor Peter Herbert from NTU were invited to share their volunteer experiences and explain current conditions in India. This helped the new members to gain a clear picture about the operations of international volunteer projects.

Actually, successful volunteer service requires not only professional knowledge, but a spirit of teamwork as well. Thus Action of Life (台南道德重整協會) assisted the WVS in organizing a two-day/one-night event few days before their tour to India, through which all members would establish a sense of friendship and learn the meaning of teamwork in terms of mutual trust and good communication.

Asked their most lasting impression, Chen vividly recalled his experience in Prem Dan. "Prem Dan" means 'a gift of love' in Hindi and was run by Sister Felicity for more than two decades, catering to the needs of underprivileged chronic patients. Chen, however, did not receive any professional chronic disease care training for his work, and dealt with the needs of these patients by helping them become completely toilet trained in cleaning up excrement.

"My first day at the Prem Dan I was astonished by the volunteers who cleaned patients' excrement. To tell you the truth, all I could think of was running away from the place at that time," said Chen. The enthusiasm of other volunteers and the motto espoused by Mother Teresa, 'Come be my light', encouraged the young boy to overcome his mental blocks. Yet it was not until a few days later Chen realized the essence of "Come be my light" through hugging an old man. "The best care for chronic patients is talking to them, which lets them feel they are loved. Since then I truly understood that charity could not be simpler than few nice words or a hug."

Chen's thoughts were echoed by Lee Hei-Ting, another member in this trip, who joined the service in Shanti Dan ('Gift of Peace'). Shanti Dan is a charity institution specifically providing care to mentally or physically handicapped women. Accordingly, the organization accepts only female volunteers. Compared with other charity institutions, the volunteers in Shanti Dan spent more time consoling patients through talking to them or taking a walk. "Even though they were incapable of speaking English nor did we understand Hindi, a friendly smile or a tender hug was enough to warm them," said Lee.

These youths have learned the essence of volunteer service and hope to encourage more students to join them. Once their volunteer service was finished, NTU helped them organize a presentation to share their stories. Chang Jer-Chen, however, emphasized in his presentation that the members of his group benefited from this project more than the underprivileged patients, bringing home to them some facts they might never learn on campus, such as the worsening income gap and the homeless situation. The MOE organizes the international volunteer project before every summer and winter break. Young students who are interested should take this opportunity to experience the true meaning of volunteer work.

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→ endycat:噢 Peter沒有來演講 你也不是去shanti dan.....
→ endycat:不過還是很酷真的XD
→ endycat:我好像也沒有說那句第一天的話啊 囧|||||
→ wind95:可能我們講太快他來不及寫 到最後都混在一起了