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CCF seeks to aid needy students

The Taiwan Fund for Children and Families (CCF), a non-profit group, asked the public to sponsor needy college students for the coming academic year, yesterday, seeking assistance for 1,834 college students who need financial aid.

Over 74 percent of the group's college beneficiaries are from single-parent families with an average monthly income of NT$20,000, the organization said at a press conference yesterday.

Since the overall cost of higher education is at least NT$112,000 per semester, the foundation gives out grants to students from CCF-sponsored households each year. To help further its aid efforts, the CCF urged members of the public to donate NT$10,000 in the face of the approaching school year.

The CCF grants are a mainstay for the students they sponsor, most of whom also work throughout the year to make ends meet, foundation representatives said.

Although government loans would seem to be the logical choice for students in need of financial aid, only 37 percent the CCF's beneficiaries opt for loans.

This is because many families the foundation aids are already in debt after years of living in poverty, the CCF's executive director Chen Bang-hung (陳邦宏) said.

When children from low income families plan to go to college, they are deterred from incurring further debt, Chen said.

Furthermore, many of those who are aided by the foundation are unable to complete loan application procedures either because they do not have household registration, no one to act as a witness or have no legal guardian, Chen added.

One student who will benefit from the CCF's grants this year is Chen Wei-ting (陳維梃), a young woman who will attend at National Chi Nan University this fall. The CCF has played a large role in her life since her father's death in a factory accident 13 years ago, Chen Wei-ting said yesterday. Because her mother only earns a monthly salary of NT$5,000, both of her older sisters are in college thanks to money from part-time work and CCF grants, Chen Wei-ting said.

Speaking about her childhood, the student recalled the shame she used to feel for being a "charity case" and talked about her grade-school experiences of taking food from school back to her family to save money.

"I used to feel so strange ... why did my family have to eat school lunch leftovers for dinner when everyone else could just go home and cook another meal?" she said.

"I was too ashamed to go take the leftovers myself, so my teacher would do it for me," Chen Wei-ting added.

Inspired by her teacher's actions, Chen Wei-ting said she eventually realized that there was no shame in accepting help from others while developing a strong desire to give back one day. Fueled by that desire, the student now works as a volunteer day care teacher and plans to study social work in college.

The foundation has raised NT$50 to 60 million for over 25,000 needy college students like Chen Wei-ting since 1993, CCF representatives said.

To make a donation, send funds to the CCF's account at the Chunghwa post office, account number 00224801. For more information, call (04) 2206-1234.
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