Taiwanese charity group helps Mongolian children combat poverty
Taipei, Oct. 19 (CNA) Since the Taiwan Fund for Children and Families (TFCF) opened its first overseas branch in Mongolia in 2004, positive results have been achieved in helping poverty-stricken children and families there escape their plight.
In a recent review of its activities in the central Asian country, the TFCF said it had provided aid to over 6,000 poor children and helped more than 1,000 Mongolian children from impoverished families become self-reliant.
As might be expected, the charity organization's operation in Mongolia differs markedly from its set-up in Taiwan and goes beyond simply providing financial assistance to needy children, said Hsieh Yi-ju, the TFCF worker responsible for the aid-to-Mongolia program, on Tuesday.
The organization there has worked with the local government to build traditional shelters, or "yurts, " a water supply station, a kindergarten, and a shelter "village" for homeless single-parent families.
In the village, "we have not just provided financial aid but also offered counseling services and vocational training," Hsieh said.
At its peak, the village sheltered 20 households, but under TFCF's guidance, five of the families have been able to move out after gaining the skills needed to maintain their own home and support themselves, Hsieh said.
One of them, led by a single mother named Chi Chi Ke, moved into the TFCF shelter village in 2007. But thanks to the skills she learned in the village, she was able to secure a job and build a yurt for her family in Ulan Bator, and moved out of the village this year.
Hsieh said Chi Chi Ke told the charity organization that "TFCF helped her discover self-confidence and see the future."
The TFCF operates 23 branches, 29 service offices, three shelters for the physically and mentally challenged, and eight shelters for children and teenagers around Taiwan.
Since it opened its first family-style orphanage in Taiwan in 1950, it has helped more than 230,000 poor children at home and abroad with different sponsorship programs, according to the TFCF. (By Lee Hsi-chang and Elizbeth Hsu) enditem/ls
In a recent review of its activities in the central Asian country, the TFCF said it had provided aid to over 6,000 poor children and helped more than 1,000 Mongolian children from impoverished families become self-reliant.
As might be expected, the charity organization's operation in Mongolia differs markedly from its set-up in Taiwan and goes beyond simply providing financial assistance to needy children, said Hsieh Yi-ju, the TFCF worker responsible for the aid-to-Mongolia program, on Tuesday.
The organization there has worked with the local government to build traditional shelters, or "yurts, " a water supply station, a kindergarten, and a shelter "village" for homeless single-parent families.
In the village, "we have not just provided financial aid but also offered counseling services and vocational training," Hsieh said.
At its peak, the village sheltered 20 households, but under TFCF's guidance, five of the families have been able to move out after gaining the skills needed to maintain their own home and support themselves, Hsieh said.
One of them, led by a single mother named Chi Chi Ke, moved into the TFCF shelter village in 2007. But thanks to the skills she learned in the village, she was able to secure a job and build a yurt for her family in Ulan Bator, and moved out of the village this year.
Hsieh said Chi Chi Ke told the charity organization that "TFCF helped her discover self-confidence and see the future."
The TFCF operates 23 branches, 29 service offices, three shelters for the physically and mentally challenged, and eight shelters for children and teenagers around Taiwan.
Since it opened its first family-style orphanage in Taiwan in 1950, it has helped more than 230,000 poor children at home and abroad with different sponsorship programs, according to the TFCF. (By Lee Hsi-chang and Elizbeth Hsu) enditem/ls
Comments
Post a Comment