For cerebral palsy sufferer Chen Shi-tang (
For most of his adult life, Chen scraped a living by selling bubble gum outside a temple in Keelung. Life was lonely and unchallenging.
"Then I heard about an opening at the Sunshine Car Wash, which is dedicated to providing job opportunities for the disabled. I decided to apply for a job there," Chen said.
For 11 years now, Chen has commuted from Keelung to Taipei six days a week to work at the car wash under the Jianguo South Road Highway Bridge.
"I felt useful for the first time in my life. Life was not about selling bubble gum anymore. By working at the car wash, I get to make friends and learn to help others," the 37-year-old Chen said.
At Sunshine, team work is the key. Although most washing is done by automatic machines, the work still requires a team effort.
"We have two automatic car-wash machines," said Ouyang Chao-ming (
Ouyang said that some some employees are mentally disadvantaged, and that the colored lines helps them to determine the services needed to be done to a car.
Sunshine Car Wash was founded 11 years ago by the Sunshine Welfare Foundation (
"Some of our employees who are burn victims used to have high-paying jobs prior to their injuries, such as cooks and business owners. Unfortunately, because of their injuries, everything changed, and they had to look for other jobs for a number of different reasons," Ouyang said.
For many at the car wash, the job has given them the opportunity to grow in confidence.
"When I first came to the car wash, I was afraid of how others might see me," Chen said. "However, after a while, my fear disappeared and my confidence has gone up a notch."
Although Chen's cerebral palsy impairs his speech, he remains optimistic about life and happily chats with strangers.
"My parents are incredibly proud of my achievement in finding my own independence," Chen said.
"I am very proud of myself too,"he added.
Kuo Keng-wang (
"It is not been easy to commute for two hours a day for the past 11 years to work here," Kuo said. "One can tell that he is really happy with his new life."
On average, 700 cars go through the Sunshine Car Wash each day.
"About 60 percent of our customers learned about the car wash by filling up at the nearby Sunshine Gas Station. They get a discount for getting their car cleaned here here," Ouyang said, adding that the car-wash's services cost from as little as NT$120 up to NT$3,000
Due to the rise of other competitors, a second car wash in Hsintien closed down last year.
However, the location in Taipei gets a lot of publicity from news coverage and from being frequented by celebrities.
"President Chen Shui-bian (
Chen said that he had met many TV celebrities.
"A famous variety show host gets his car washed here every week and offers a generous tip each visit," Chen said. "This TV host always chats with us and is very friendly."
On the day of the Taipei Times' visit, Chen was vacuuming car seats and rugs.
"Since there is a rotation of tasks, I do not get bored doing the same tasks over and over again," Chen said.
And in today's tight job market, Chen is grateful for his permanent job.
"This job gives me so much joy that despite the long commute, I look forward to coming to work everyday," he said.
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