【World Vision Taiwan】

Understanding World Vision

World Vision is a global Christian organization dedicated to aid, development, and advocacy. Operating across six continents and nearly 100 countries, it has over 34,000 partners working together to lift the most vulnerable children and families out of poverty and crisis, accompanying them through the joys and abundance of life.

With strict operational methods and over 70 years of experience, World Vision establishes partnerships with communities, donors, partners, and government entities, serving children of all backgrounds, creating opportunities for those in the most vulnerable environments, promoting child welfare, empowering communities, and striving to rectify injustices against the oppressed, thus nurturing a sustainable future for humanity.

By reaching into the corners of poverty and vulnerability, World Vision supports families and children to escape poverty and develop their communities, treating everyone equally regardless of race, gender, or belief. We believe that every least advantaged child deserves the opportunity to build a bright future.

About World Vision Taiwan

Established in 1964, during Taiwan’s resource-scarce 1970s and 1980s, World Vision Taiwan delved into remote mountainous areas and islands, caring for orphanages, children’s homes, leprosy hospitals, and engaging in mountain medical services, serving the “poorest among the poor.” As Taiwan’s economy soared, World Vision Taiwan, after receiving foreign support for 20 years, was handed over to Taiwanese sponsors and donors in 1985 to cater to the domestic needs of children.

In 1991, Taiwanese generosity began sponsoring impoverished children overseas, actively passing on the long-term support received to other needy corners of the globe. From receiving foreign aid to providing it, World Vision Taiwan has deeply cultivated Taiwan for 60 years and currently operates 4 offices, 55 service points, 11 government partnership service centers, 3 student centers, 3 tribal kitchens, 13 digital learning classrooms, and 21 youth development centers across urban, coastal, mountainous, and island regions, making it the most deeply-rooted and widely serving child care institution in the country.

Currently, World Vision Taiwan utilizes approximately 600 social workers’ professional services and profound experience nationwide, engaging in education and nutritional support, family and community empowerment, child protection, disaster relief, and family assistance. Each year, it accompanies about 45,000 vulnerable children and their families through hardships, together encountering the hope for change.

With the commitment of sponsors and donors, World Vision Taiwan collaborates with other World Visions in medium to long-term regional development projects through its international child sponsorship program, jointly experiencing transformative development and moving towards prosperous independence with over two million impoverished children and residents annually. Simultaneously, through the “30 Hour Famine Disaster Relief Fund,” it assists about 15 million people annually in overcoming life’s challenges due to natural disasters, wars, and food shortages.

【Ark Association】

Since its founding in 2014 by Winny Hsiao, who currently serves as the founding chairman, the Ark Association has been dedicated to public service, bringing love and care to every corner of Taiwanese society. From early mountain cleaning activities and services at the Sandimen Elderly Long-Term Care Center to over eight years of services at the Bali Nursing Home, we continuously support those in need through stage plays, games, and outings. We also actively participate in youth volunteer education, committed to promoting comprehensive growth for each young person.

Further, in 2015, we began extending our help to vulnerable families, such as single mothers in Wugu and families in Shulin needing medical funds. Additionally, we embrace a global perspective, investing significant efforts in international volunteer services and education, such as establishing schools in Qinghai’s Nangqian and Cambodia, and organizing international youth volunteer groups. This enables young people from Taiwan to engage in local affairs and deepen their understanding and care for global needs.

The Ark Association was officially established in 2017, and our main services now include life education for young volunteers, support for vulnerable families, companionship for the elderly living alone, rehabilitation and meal services for the homeless, and co-founding the Tibet Hope School, sponsoring resources for children in remote areas, and managing international schools. We offer volunteer education programs weekly and actively provide volunteer support during the pandemic. We are dedicated to emotional management, career planning, skill education, family education, self-awareness, and exploration for diverse development. Our goal is to provide comprehensive support to Taiwan’s youth, enabling them to thrive under our guidance and bring more warmth and hope to Taiwanese society.

【Wilderness Conservation Association】

Purpose of the Wilderness

Through purchasing, long-term leasing, accepting commissions, or donations, we acquire the guardianship and management rights of wilderness areas to protect them and allow nature to manage itself, thus restoring vitality. This lets us and future generations discover the mysteries of nature and comprehend the meaning of life through the deliberately preserved wilderness of Taiwan.

Mission of the Wilderness

Preserve Taiwan’s natural species

Enable natural succession in wild areas

Promote the concept of natural ecology conservation

Provide the public with opportunities and environments for natural ecological education

Assist the government in conserving soil and water and maintaining natural resources

Train talent in natural ecology conservation

【Public Welfare Platform Cultural Foundation】

We believe that Hualien and Taitung represent the beautiful values of life in Taiwan. Through exemplary exploration, we aim to make more people aware of the value of preserving the land and culture of Hualien and Taitung before extensive development and commercial organizations arrive.

After the Typhoon Morakot in 2009, we assisted in the recovery efforts in Hualien and Taitung, from training personnel to highlighting potential tourist spots, and subsequently aiding in the acceleration of promising industries and talent development, finding their direction. We continue to bring key influential figures to Hualien and Taitung, arousing public appreciation for its value; we build platforms for cross-tribal exchanges among indigenous peoples and promote learning and exchanges with indigenous peoples from other countries, together forging a sustainable future for our land.

We are at the forefront in Hualien and Taitung, crouching down to listen, understanding needs, and connecting resources. We believe that “trust” allows the convergence of everyone’s love and energy, making a difference.

“Public Welfare Platform,” an unnamed foundation, is a platform used by everyone. We are committed to integrating corporate and private resources to amplify synergy; through like-minded partners, we facilitate the spreading of good deeds.

【Hualien Mennonite Hospital】

Overview

In 1948, the “Mennonite Mobile Medical Team” composed of 6 to 7 foreign medical staff, missionaries, and interpreters first appeared in the indigenous tribes of Eastern Taiwan. They used a modified U.S. military truck to carry medical supplies, canned food, and milk provided by U.S. aid to deliver healthcare in remote areas. By 1954, the Christian Mennonite Hospital was established with 35 beds, extending medical services to the general population. Initially, funding primarily came from churches and donors in the United States; however, as Taiwan’s economy flourished, this aid ceased. Around 1990, significant expansions were undertaken, increasingly funded by donations from Taiwanese compatriots. During this period, several historic changes occurred:

1. The hospital was upgraded to a regional teaching hospital with over 500 beds.

2. Successful localization; although foreign missionaries and medical staff gradually retired or left Taiwan, the new generation of Mennonites continued to uphold the traditional spirit.

3. A “new wave of immigration” emerged, following many Taiwanese-American doctors who returned to serve at Mennonite Hospital, inspiring many Western medical professionals to also return and serve.

After 2001, successive establishments of nursing homes and postnatal care homes were initiated. In 2010, the Shoufeng branch was opened, followed by the establishment of a mental care home. In 2014, the Shoufeng Care Home was inaugurated, taking a step further as a benchmark hospital for comprehensive long-term care for senior citizens. In July 2018, the “Dementia Co-Care Center” and the “Community Integrated Service Center (Unit A)” were officially established at the Shoufeng branch, expanding services to include dementia care, temporary care for the disabled, and mobile services for the physically challenged, enhancing home care and implementing people-centered community-integrated care services. Plans are underway to build the “Long-term Care Integration Service and Talent Development Center” on approximately 232 pings of land at No. 586, South Bin Road, Ji’an Township, Hualien County. Additionally, an existing dilapidated building on the adjacent plot No. 584, about 310 pings, is being renovated to become a dementia group home to provide community-based services. In 2022, the foundation ceremonies for the “Nianhua Building” of the Long-term Care Integration Service Center and the “Yong’ai Building” for dementia care were held. We are actively implementing phased expansion plans: the construction of the Health Management Center building, which had its groundbreaking ceremony in 2022, aims to alleviate the overcrowding at the Meilun main hospital, and the construction plan for the elder care home is being implemented with integrity to fulfill long-anticipated projects by donors, gradually completing the comprehensive plan for the Shoufeng elderly care community, providing holistic care on physical, mental, and spiritual levels.

 

【Taitung Christian Hospital】

In February 1969, a hospital of God was established on Earth as the Taitung Christian Hospital, where missionaries, fueled by a fervent passion to evangelize and save, embraced the concept of a mobile hospital. They traversed every village in Taitung, treating the sick as if they were their own kin, and saving countless lives. The hospital director, Tan Wei-yi, once said, “Faith is not used to explain life, but to carry it.” The recipients of the “Medical Dedication Award”—Tan Wei-yi, Su Fu-dao, Geng Xi-yin, Long Le-de, De Le-shi, and An Fang-lian—were like seeds sown into the soil, continuously bearing fruit and embodying the ‘spirit of wheat’ that perpetuates the legacy of dedication at the hospital.

In 1996, this divine hospital faced real-world trials. As times changed, the medical mission in Taitung, conducted under the missionaries’ pure, profit-indifferent principles, faced transformation pains due to local medical advancements. Moreover, the missionaries who had founded the hospital retired due to old age or were reassigned by the church, leading to a succession crisis at the hospital.

During this period, Hualien Mennonite Hospital and Kaohsiung Chang Gung Hospital timely extended their help. Together with the collective efforts of all staff across generations, the hospital gradually completed its transformation, preserving the characteristics of a mobile hospital and continuing to safeguard the health of the people in Taitung.

 

【Children’s Book House】

In Taitung, due to a long-term lack of resources,

young and middle-aged adults must leave their hometowns to work in the metropolitan areas of the west.

Pressed into the lower layers of society, these individuals,

having children in the cities, have no choice but to send them back home for intergenerational upbringing;

many Taitung children grow up in incomplete family structures,

overlooked by both family and schools, thus leading to their self-exile.

In 1999,

Chen Jun-lang, having returned to his hometown in Taitung,

began to accompany some of these children,

gradually gathering like-minded partners,

and established the Children’s Book House in various communities across Taitung,

embarking on a journey of companionship…

The Book House has come a long way since then..

In 1999, founder Chen Jun-lang returned from Taipei and started to accompany his own two children and several other kids who had no dinner to eat, wandering between communities, with music and homework assistance.

In 2007, the Taitung County Education Development Association was established. For registration, the name “Children’s Book House” was taken, written on a signboard, and tied to a utility pole with wire, finally giving the Book House its initial form.

In 2008, educational authorities launched a program that combined schools, communities, and families to jointly support children’s tutoring, starting the “Hand in Hand Project” for junior high students and the “Moonlight Angels” program for elementary students, with the Book House being one of the entrusted entities.

In 2009, Nanwang Book House connected with Jianhe Book House; Meihua Book House and Hot Spring Book House were established.

In 2012, it took its first steps into the agricultural industry, beginning with the cultivation of passion fruit.

In 2013, “Little Heights Classes” were started to address issues below the sixth grade, concentrating fifth and sixth graders at the Hot Spring Book House; a “Diverse Book House” was established for junior high students with specialized classes in mathematics, science, and English, and experimental reading classes were set up for all junior and senior high students.

In 2013, the first harvest of passion fruits took place.

In 2014, the initiative to build houses by themselves began. They also started raising chickens.

In 2015, Qinglin Book House was completed. The non-profit Children’s Book House Cultural and Educational Foundation was established.

In 2016, Ligia Book House was established, and the foundation-affiliated Ji Rang Ge was founded.

【Nan Hui Foundation】

In 2002, the population of Daren Township was 4,141, mostly elderly and young children; despite paying the same health insurance premiums, they could not access equivalent medical resources. Facing a resource-poor town where minor illnesses were left to heal naturally and serious illnesses depended on whether the road was long or life was longer, Dr. Xu Chao-Bin, the head of Daren Township Health Center, was both outraged and anxious. Consequently, he expanded night and holiday clinic hours and promoted 24-hour emergency services (established at Dawu Emergency Station in 2006), while also advocating for the humble health center to be transformed into a medical building (inaugurated in 2009).

However, known as the “Superman Doctor,” on the morning of September 18, 2006, at 39 years old, he collapsed from a stroke due to overwork, personally experiencing the suffering of illness and the need for medical care. After returning to his position, starting in 2011, he advocated for the construction of the Nan Hui Hospital and established the Nan Hui Foundation and hospital preparation office, aiming to create a medical safety network for the Nan Hui line as a beacon for people to return home with peace of mind.

Mission of the Foundation

To establish medical facilities that meet local needs, providing residents of the Nan Hui line and nearby areas with accessible medical services that are both spatially and culturally considerate, along with comprehensive health care.

The foundation is committed to managing medical institutions and public welfare projects, including post-acute medical care support for the Nan Hui line and surrounding areas, assisting in village medical rounds, managing long-term care services, disease prevention screening, and health promotion efforts. It also focuses on caring for the local residents of the Nan Hui line and adjacent areas, including the elderly, people with disabilities, and vulnerable groups, and addressing urgent care needs.

The vision is centered around a medical and humanistic spirit, covering the training and empowerment of medical and health care personnel, engaging in medical, humanitarian, and social care research, promoting health-enhancing dietary activities, and integrating local medical care with the humanities industry to increase employment opportunities and foster sustainable regional development.

 

【Huangting Zen Sapling Inner Growth Camp】

About Sapling

The founder of the Sapling Inner Growth Camp states: “In the two-day, one-night group life, each activity appears to be playful, but what is actually taught to the children is how to feel healthy, peaceful, and joyously serene when interacting with groups and individuals. The camp trains children to not be disturbed by their own emotions when facing adversity or situations not going their way, and to develop an attitude that does not focus solely on their own interests within a group, but instead fosters friendliness, respect for elders, brotherly love, mutual support, and a win-win cooperation.”

The founder has distilled the Chinese cultural concept of inner sage and outer king into ‘Respect, Gratitude, Prioritizing, Considering Others, and Rectification’—five core values. Through activities, these values are imparted to children as principles that can be applied from an early age in daily life. This prepares them to return to their families and schools, where every ‘teachable moment’ in life cultivates their ability to manage themselves, coexist with others, and embrace a broad vision for the welfare of the nation and society at large.

Education is a century-long plan, and ‘Respect, Gratitude, Prioritizing, Considering Others, and Rectification’ form the DNA of education, also known as the ‘core competencies’ in twelve years of national education. Cultivated through family, school, and life, these core competencies transform society and the nation, optimizing the ethos of the populace. This is the true meaning and purpose of education.