Accessible Toursim Volunteer Experience(1)

It was an unforgettable experience which was also my first volunteered activity in Eden Social Welfare Foundation. The thing I needed to do was give a hand to people with wheelchairs when we were traveling around Tamshui. It was not as hard as I thought; in fact, I really enjoyed this excursion. The companions were really kind to me while I made some mistakes; they even taught me how to hold the wheelchairs properly. They encouraged me to try it again and again; however, I still need more practice. Although I got a chance to witness how the climbing ladder worked for wheelchairs at Shihsanhang Museum of Archaeology, yet I thought the facility was still dangerous for disabled people. Even I didn’t have courage to experience the climbing ladder; therefore, I thought the experiencer was fearless and brave. The climbing ladder was more like a slow roller coaster because the ladder was really steep. All of us were very exciting and vigorous while we visited Shihsanhang Museum of Archaeology and Fort San Domingo. One of the companions was an erudite who briefly taught me about the history of Fort San Domingo in Tamshui. I learned a lot by this chance. By the way, the view in Fort San Domingo was very beautiful in that day. I was very glad to be with them on July 17, 2008. ~Monica 這是第一次參與伊甸基金會的志工活動，我懷著既緊張又興奮的心情前往。到了捷運站，看到專為身心障礙者設計的巴士來接送，有點不知道要如何協助他們上車。剛開始，我完全不曉得要用多少力道與速度推輪椅，感謝身心障礙朋友的指導，讓我實際練習與操作，現在我可以說我已經具備基礎協助的能力了；但是，唯一美中不足的地方是我的臂力還不足以支撐身心障礙朋友們，要鍛鍊！ 經過這一次無障礙設施的遠足體驗，我注意到了無障礙設施仍然不足、有些無障礙斜坡道仍有些不符合規格、爬坡梯很陡峭、而且無障礙廁所居然要男女共用，常常使得男性身障者要進入女生廁所內使用專用廁所，往往會造成尷尬的處境。 但是同樣地，我也深刻的感受到還是有很多人很樂意他們也很願意為身障朋友們服務、為身障朋友們改善週遭不利的設施，這樣的心意我們都收到了。希望社會大眾能多為身障者設身處地的考量，讓旅遊不再是一件難事。 陳 穎