The Children Are Us Foundation (
The foundation is a nonprofit group that provides the mentally-disabled with long-term care and job training. Known for its efforts to enable clients to be self-supporting, the organization sponsors several restaurants and bakeries in Taipei, Kaohsiung and Hsinchu that provide clients with work opportunities.
At the organization's 10th anniversary celebration yesterday, foundation representatives said they hope the learning center will fulfill the post-secondary educational needs of their clients.
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
"The current education system only provides for the mentally disabled until they are 18 and graduate from special education vocational high schools. A study we did, however, indicates that 80 percent of parents feel a need for further education for their disabled children," foundation chairwoman Hsiao Shu-chen (蕭淑珍) said.
"Since there is no system in place for these individuals, our foundation is trying to set up an institution where the developmentally disadvantaged can develop living skills and get job training," she said.
"In this day and age when almost all students of average intelligence can get further education if they want it, it's natural for parents of the mentally disabled to want their children to have similar opportunities. Realistically, it would be difficult for such individuals to go to regular universities and obtain degrees, but our foundation hopes to act as a channel through which the disabled too can have the extra time and guidance to decide their life's direction," Hsiao said.
The foundation hopes to establish centers in Taipei County and Kaohsiung City by next January. It is currently in negotiations with the Ministry of Education, Council of Labor Affairs and local authorities to map out plans for the schools and their place in the education system.
"There's never been anything like this done before," Hsiao said.
The foundation said the school will hold classes in two categories: vocational training and community-college style classes in arts and physical fitness.
To raise money for the centers, the foundation is holding a 21-day auction through Yahoo Auctions Taiwan at bid.yahoo.com.tw. The auction includes autographed items from various politicians and entertainers, such as Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
More information on the foundation is available at www.c-are-us.org.tw. To volunteer, call (02) 2325-7383 in Taipei and (07) 726-6096 in Kaohsiung.
LOUD AND PROUD Taiwan might have taken a drubbing against Australia and Japan, but you might not know it from the enthusiasm and numbers of the fans Taiwan might not be expected to win the World Baseball Classic (WBC) but their fans are making their presence felt in Tokyo, with tens of thousands decked out in the team’s blue, blowing horns and singing songs. Taiwanese fans have packed out the Tokyo Dome for all three of their games so far and even threatened to drown out home team supporters when their team played Japan on Friday. They blew trumpets, chanted for their favorite players and had their own cheerleading squad who dance on a stage during the game. The team struggled to match that exuberance on the field, with
Whether Japan would help defend Taiwan in case of a cross-strait conflict would depend on the US and the extent to which Japan would be allowed to act under the US-Japan Security Treaty, former Japanese minister of defense Satoshi Morimoto said. As China has not given up on the idea of invading Taiwan by force, to what extent Japan could support US military action would hinge on Washington’s intention and its negotiation with Tokyo, Morimoto said in an interview with the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) yesterday. There has to be sufficient mutual recognition of how Japan could provide
UPDATED TEST: The new rules aim to assess drivers’ awareness of risky behaviors and how they respond under certain circumstances, the Highway Bureau said Driver’s license applicants who fail to yield to pedestrians at intersections or to check blind spots, or omit pointing-and-calling procedures would fail the driving test, the Highway Bureau said yesterday. The change is set to be implemented at the end of the month, and is part of the bureau’s reform of the driving portion of the test, which has been criticized for failing to assess whether drivers can operate vehicles safely. Sedan drivers would be tested regarding yielding to pedestrians and turning their heads to check blind spots, while drivers of large vehicles would be tested on their familiarity with pointing-and-calling
A Taiwanese man apologized on Friday after saying in a social media post that he worked with Australia to provide scouting reports on Taiwan’s team, enabling Australia’s victory in this year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC), saying it was a joke and that he did not hold any position with foreign teams or Taiwan’s sports training center. Chen Po-hao (陳柏豪) drew the rage of many Taiwan baseball fans when he posted online on Thursday night, claiming credit for Australia’s 3-0 win over Taiwan in the opening game for Pool C, saying he worked as a physical therapist with the national team and
RSS