Commercial and charity platform KIGE Studio is seeking donations to help bring together homeless people with construction and home-repair skills and low-income families in need of their abilities, the platform’s founders said.
KIGE Studio co-founder and National Taiwan University (NTU) creativity and entrepreneurship program student Hung Wan-chen (洪婉甄) said the project was conceived by a group of NTU students, a faculty member and the Taipei-based Homeless Taiwan Foundation.
After consulting with the foundation, the students realized that many homeless people have professional skills in trades related to construction and home repairs, and KIGE Studio was created to help these skilled workers find clients, with an emphasis on low-income families, Hung said.
Photo: screen grab from Facebook
The platform aims to provide homeless people with regular employment and income, while low-income families, who are introduced to the studio by charities and social welfare agencies, benefit by receiving home repairs that they otherwise could not afford, Hung said.
The studio has about 10 qualified construction workers on call, and it is cooperating with the YIH Wood Studio to establish a carpentry workshop for three to five employees to produce and sell furniture, Hung said.
Since KIGE Studio created a Facebook page in May last year, it had received many commissions, and it began the process of collaborating with organizations such as 9th Floor Co-Living Apartments, Tsuei Ma Ma Foundation for Housing and Community Service and Sinyi Realty, she said.
However, the platform needs NT$600,000 to cover the costs of materials and wages for its first five to 10 projects, Hung said, adding that the money is needed so that the studio can achieve self-sufficiency until it finalizes its partnerships with large-scale organizations.
The studio’s workers will prove to the public that the stigma attached to homeless people is caused by false stereotyping, she said.
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