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Chingye unites to help foster kids

Right off a mountain road in Pingtung County, the Chingye Township (青葉), a community made up largely of members of the Rukai tribe, is home to nine foster children.

The children were placed in five Chingye families by the Taiwan Fund for Children and Families and World Vision Taiwan.

What is unusual about Chingye, however, is the cooperation in the community to look after its charges. The town's residents -- young and old alike -- lend a hand in caring for and supporting the children.

Usually, a foster child is looked after by a single foster family, but in Chingye, the village unites around the care of the kids, said Aru Wayi, a social worker with a foster daughter.

After school, neighbors bring homemade snacks to share with the girl in her care, she said.

When the mother in another foster family fell ill, neighbors rushed to the house to help look after the family's two foster kids.

With the whole community involved in caring for the foster kids, "the Chingye Township is unique," said Lo Shu-wen (羅淑文), a social worker with World Vision Taiwan.

The whole village once threw a birthday party for one foster child who was having emotional problems, Lo said.

The party meant a lot to the boy, Lo said. After three months, the boy began helping out with chores at home and stopped skipping classes.

Local institutions had also helped with the children, she said. The principal of Chingye Elementary School specially selected teachers to work with these children.

Villagers provide emotional support to the children, complimenting and encouraging them, she said.

Lo said that the encouragement the children received from local residents helped build up their self-confidence.

One child who was formerly a victim of domestic violence had a strong fear of strangers.

But since being lavished with welcoming smiles and encouragement from Chingye residents, the girl now enjoys the company of others and meeting new people, Lo said.

Four other families in the village are also planning to take in foster children, Lo said.

She added that the ability of a single family to meet the needs of a foster child was limited, but a united community could help the children recover from the emotional trauma of losing or being removed from a family faster.
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