National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) is hosting “human library events” that invite members of marginalized groups to serve as “living books” by sharing their life stories with students to promote dialogue and encourage understanding.
NTNU social work graduate student Chou Cheng-chuan (周澄巽) said the series aims to motivate social work students to listen carefully and pay attention to people’s stories, which is at the heart of what social workers do.
Each student reading group has a 30-minute interview with a human “book” before switching to speak with another volunteer, he said.
The living books have been invited through non-government institutions including Eden Social Welfare Foundation, Homeless Taiwan and Taiwan Tongzhi Hotline Association — an LGBT organization, he said.
In a recent session, a homeless person nicknamed Tua-ko (大摳) said: “I have never set foot on a campus since I graduated from primary school, and I never thought that I could go in to a university and share my stories with college students. I told the young people to be filial to their parents before it is too late.”
He said that he had been living with his ailing mother before she died, whereupon he became a vagrant.
Living on the streets is not easy, Tua-ko said.
He fell seriously ill on a cold day and was taken to a hospital, where he was referred to social workers, and he was thankful to them, he said.
Tua-ko said that he told students aspiring to be social workers to be polite to homeless people and take good care of disadvantaged people, adding that the job was one of high ideals.
“I have got a job and am working hard to make money. I will rent a place and make a home,” he said, adding that he is working as a maintenance worker.
The human books come from various backgrounds and offer a wide range of personal stories, Chou said.
A woman became homeless because she was cheated out of her life savings when looking for relatives who were also living on the streets, while a retired taxi driver became homeless because he lost all his money in a failed business venture and he had no family to help him, Chou said.
A volunteer nicknamed Hsiao-pai (小白) who works at Taiwan Tongzhi Hotline Association also shared his experiences with students, saying that he agreed to participate because he wanted people to gain insights into the day-to-day life of a gay person.
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