The Chi Yen (奇岩) community development association had humble beginnings as a small study group of mothers in the Beitou (北投) district, according to association member Gao Mei-hua (高美華).
But the lively discussions at those early meetings sparked interest in environmental and other community concerns.
Now, 11 years after those mothers founded the association, it's involved in a wide range of community-building efforts: promoting recycling, fighting against over-construction, looking out for the welfare of the community's women and elderly, and developing local industry.
PHOTO: FANG PIN-CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
Yesterday, to encourage more people to build healthy, more self-reliant communities by forming groups such as Chi Yen, the Taipei City Social Welfare Department held an "excellent community exhibition."
At the opening ceremony, Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
"Some communities organized their own patrols and even rescue teams, so they don't need help from the city government when disasters like typhoons happen. I've always been impressed by what they can do," Ma said yesterday.
According to the social welfare department, there are currently 353 registered community organizations around the city.
To promote community care for the elderly and related social welfare efforts, the department began to work with social groups two years ago. They encouraged community development associations to provide meal services to the elderly and job training to women and other minority groups.
The power of local communities, however, has been growing even without government help or encouragement.
Many community development associations have been around for more than 10 years.
Like Chi Yen, many such groups started as a labor of love by a small group of enthusiastic people whose hard work helped turn their communities into big families.
The Ming Hui (
The theater group helped teach the community about things such as the importance of recycling -- one reason why the community began to recycle long before the city government demanded that the public do so.
The community was also the first to take advantage of broadband Internet to document community events and provide Internet lessons to community members.
"We do not hold community activities just for fun. Every event provides a great chance for us to know what community members need, and hopefully they will become engaged in community affairs after knowing each other," said Chiu Rei-mei (
Pan Shu-man (
"Bringing strangers together and having them identify with the community, therefore, is the most important thing in community development," she suggested.
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