Eden Presides at a Talk on How Special Subsidiaries May Increase Employment Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities

Eden Presides at a Talk on How Special Subsidiaries May Increase Employment Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities

The talk, presided over by Eden, saw representatives from
the academia, public sector, and corporations contribute to
discussions of international scale.

In December, 2012, Eden Social Welfare Foundation presided at a talk on how the Japanese model of special subsidiaries may help create more employment opportunities for persons with disabilities. With the aim of increasing employment opportunities for Taiwan’s persons with disabilities, the talk, held at National Chengchi University Center for Public and Business Administration Education, saw representatives from the academia, public sector, and corporations contribute to the discussions on relevant legislations and possible practices of both local and international scales.

Having enjoyed the legalization of special subsidiaries for more than 36 years, Japanese corporations have succeeded in developing a business model that encourages the employment of persons with disabilities. The Japanese model of special subsidiaries allows the number of employees with disabilities hired by special subsidiaries to be counted towards the quota of employees with disabilities that corporations in Japan are required to reach by the law. This has created a win-win situation for employees with disabilities and employers in Japan and thus presents much value to be studied and adopted by other countries and regions in the world. 

According to statistics, Japan has claimed more than 340 corporations with special subsidiaries hiring primarily persons with disabilities. At the end of 2011, the total number of persons with disabilities employed by special subsidiaries in Japan has amounted to 16,000, a prevailing percentage of which consisted of persons with severe intellectual disabilities.

 

During the talk, Mr. Joa Song Hwang, CEO of Eden Social Welfare Foundation, remarked that special subsidiaries provided practical alternatives to sheltered workshops, social enterprises, and many other attempts to increase employment opportunities among persons with disabilities.

 







Eden E-news: No. 3 | January 2013

Eden Celebrates Multicultural Taiwan with Children of New Immigrant Families



Mr. Gong, Zhi Rong, Deputy Director General
of Cathey Charity Foundation, poses with
winners at the award ceremony of Eden's
Diverse Intelligence Development Camp for
New Immigrant Children, held in December,
2012.

In December, 2012, Cathay Charity Foundation joined forces with Eden Social Welfare Foundation in Taiwan in the Diverse Intelligence Development Camp for New Immigrant Children, marking another grand success of the annual presentation since the program’s inauguration in 2010. The venue at Cathay Financial Conference Hall was filled by more than 200 participants, for whom young participants presented their yearlong learning outcomes with Vietnamese folk songs, children’s action songs, and multicultural theaters.

Ms. Zhu, Li Ying, Director of Eden Social Welfare Foundation New Immigrant Service, stressed that the Diverse Intelligence Development Camp not only helped raise cultural awareness among new immigrant children in Taiwan but focused on the facilitation of the holistic development of their body and mind, and, more importantly, added Ms. Zhu, curriculums of the program equipped them with the capacity to have a positive impact on others and be of service to the society in their everyday lives. Read more here.

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Members of Social Innovation Research Group
(SIRG) (left to right: Remi Kanji, Wendy Pan,
and Reza Mirza) interviewed Mr. Joa Song,
Huang, CEO of Eden Social Welfare Foundation,
with Ms. Serena Chang, Section Chief of the
International Development Division at Eden, as
the interpreter.

Social Innovation Research Group at the University of Toronto Visits Eden

 

On 10th Jan., 2013, Eden Social Welfare Foundation received a distinguished group of guests, including Ms. Remi Kanji, Ms. Wendy Pan, and Mr. Reza Mirza, from the Social Innovation Research Group (SIRG) at the University of Toronto. Members of the group have visited Taiwan multiple times to conduct an extensive research on Taiwan’s emerging field of social enterprise. Mr. Joa Song, Huang, CEO of Eden Social Welfare Foundation, assisted by Ms. Serena Chang, Section Chief of Eden Social Welfare Foundation International Development Division, had an in-depth discussion with the group regarding Eden’s experience in its diverse models of social enterprise developed throughout the years. After the interview, the Canadian researchers also joined Mr. Abraham Hsieh, Director of Eden Wan-Fang Center for Disabled Young People, for a guided tour of the Center.

 

In his interview with the researchers, Mr. Huang touched upon a wide range of topics, from the operational definition of social enterprise to the management experience and practice models of Eden’s current social enterprises all over Taiwan. Read more here.

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Eden Attends US Transportation Research Board 92nd Annual Meeting

For the past thirty years, Eden Social Welfare Foundation has been working diligently on the welfare of persons with disabilities at home and abroad. As a result, the Foundation was funded by Taiwan’s Bureau of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Economic Affairs, to attend the US Transportation Research Board 92nd Annual Meeting 2013, from January 13th-17th at Washington, D.C.

The TRB Annual Meeting program covers all transportation modes, with more than 4,000 presentations in nearly 750 sessions and workshops addressing topics of interest to all attendees—policy makers, administrators, practitioners, researchers, and representatives of government, industry, and academic institutions. More than 40 sessions and workshops address the spotlight theme for 2013: Deploying Transportation Research - Doing Things Smarter, Better, Faster.

With the goal of soliciting international support for Eden Social Welfare Foundation to be the host organization of the 15th International Conference on Mobility and Transport for Elderly and Disabled Persons, TRANSED 2018, Eden representatives at this year’s TRB meeting are fully prepared to present briefings on Eden’s transportation services and organizational goal, mission, and vision to event participants. Read more here.

 

Donate! Checks payable to Eden Social Welfare Foundation can be mailed to: Eden Social Welfare Foundation 3rd Fl., 55, Wanmei Street, Sec.1, Taipei, Taiwan 116 Or click here to download and fill out the credit card donation form! *Please allow 2 to 4 weeks for a receipt of your donation

To subscribe, please reply to ieden.info@gmail.com with subscribe in the subject line.

Eden E-news: No. 2 | December 2012

Ying-pin Yeh, President of Eden Social Welfare Foundation
at the Foundation's 30th Anniversary on December 1st, 2012
at Greater Taichung International Expo Centre.

Eden Celebrates 30th Anniversary for God’s Grace and Love

 

Eden Social Welfare Foundation hosted a Service of Thanksgiving and a concert for its 30th anniversary at Greater Taichung International Expo Center on December 1st, 2012. More than 2000 participants joined the celebration from all over Taiwan and abroad, lending their support for the spirit of Eden Social Welfare Foundation, which will “Never Give Up” its commitment to serving those in need.

Following the Lord’s Prayer at the opening ceremony, Ying-Pin Yeh, President of Eden Social Welfare Foundation, gives a speech where he invites participants to review with him the history of Eden, whose inception dates back some thirty years ago. Having merely two full-time employees at its initial stage, Eden Social Welfare Foundation has morphed into a community with more than two thousand staff serving over ten thousand households annually. The works of Eden bear witnesses to the will of God. President Yeh encourages the staff of Eden to follow the steps and example of Saint Paul and Ms. Liu Xia, founder of Eden Social Welfare Foundation, to promote Gospel and welfare. He believes that God will send his angels among the government, private sectors, and the Church to serve the staff of Eden as long as they follow the will of God in their works. President Yeh expects Eden to continue to be the vessel of God and a blessing for the ill fortuned in the next thirty years to come. Read more here.

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Ms. Jin-jin Chang (left) talks to student participants about her

own story of success with Eden's career training program for

persons with disabilities.

Walk-A-Thon 2012 with Taipei Adventist American School

 

The 7th annual walk-a-thon for Taipei Adventist American School (TAAS) was held on November 18, 2012. Students have met this year at Taipei City Fulin Elementary School in a joint effort to raise money for disabled and economically disadvantaged persons of Eden Social Welfare Foundation’s Love without Borders Wheelchair Donation Project for Vietnam and Nepal. The proceeds will go to the project and help donate 300 wheelchairs to people with disabilities in the two developing countries.

 

The day of the event saw Ms. Jin-jin Chang and Ms. Hsin-hui Serena Chang, both of whom are staff members at the International and Cross-Strait Affairs Center of Eden Social Welfare Foundation, introduce to TAAS students, faculty members, and parents the work of Eden and Ms. Jin-Jin Chang’s personal testimony of her story of success at Eden’s career training program for persons with disabilities. The program helped render her economically independent and capable of standing on her own feet throughout the years. Ms. Jin-jin Chang also thanked TAAS for having the fundraiser, which helps disabled persons living in the developing world acquire their own wheelchairs, with which they are able to access education and career training that change their lives. Read more here.

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Unseen: an Extraordinary Photography Exhibition

 

Alicia Neo, a Singaporean visual artist in residence at Bamboo Curtain Studio in Taipei, is hosting a photographic exhibition, titled “Unseen,” at Ai-Ming Center with 6 participants with visual impairments from Eden Social Welfare Foundation.

 

Having joined Ms. Neo in a one-on-one workshop on photography, the six participants are encouraged to utilize photography as their new way of expression. Some are even encouraged to retrieve their memory of certain images in their works.

 

The workshop not only provides participants with the opportunity to acquire the basic skills in photography but encourages them to develop a new identity for themselves which they share with the general public their potential and the diversity among individuals in their community.

 

Venue of Exhibition:
Ai-Ming Centre
130, Guangquan Rd., Banqiao District, New Taipei City, Taiwan 220
Dates of Exhibition: Dec. 3, 7, 14, 17, 24, 28, 31
Opening hours: 09:00-12:00, 13:00-16:00

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Eden Advocates for a Mine-free World with International Campaign to Ban Landmines at Geneva, Switzerland

Right to left: Serena Chang, Section Chief of Eden Social Welfare Foundation
International and Cross-Strait Affairs Center, Sylvie Brigot, Executive
Director of ICBL-CMC, Jacqueline Hansen, Program Manager of Landmine
and Cluster Munition Monitor, Muteber Ögreten, ICBL Campaigner from the
Initiative for a Mine Free Turkey, and Ms. Hansen's son, at the 20th
Anniversary of Internatinal Campaign to Ban Landmines at Geneva

From 3-7 December, 2012, Eden Social Welfare Foundation joined International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) campaigners and landmine survivors from nearly 40 countries at the opening of the Twelfth Meeting of States Parties (12MSP) to the Mine Ban Treaty in Geneva, Switzerland, to call on governments to commit to eradicating antipersonnel landmines in years, not decades.

 

The 12MSP begins 15 years to the day after the Mine Ban Treaty was opened for signature in Ottawa in 1997 where it was signed by 122 states. “Twenty years after we began the international campaign and 15 years after achieving the Mine Ban Treaty, we are close to global acceptance of the landmine ban, and we are closing in on a mine-free world. Now we need to finish the job to ensure landmines don’t claim any more limbs and lives,” said Nobel peace laureate Jody Williams at the meeting. Read more here.

 

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Capacity Building Services to be Developed in Haiti by Eden

From left to right: Claire Perrin Houdon, Coordinator of
Handicap International, Cosy Samuel, Administrative
Director of Centre national de défense des démunis et
handicapés, and John Bosco Kuang (center), Director of
Eden Social Welfare Foundation International Affairs
Center with volunteers from Centre national de défense des
démunis et handicapés

Having visited Haiti and assessed the needs of persons with disabilities affected by the earthquake in 2010, Eden Social Welfare Foundation returns to the country this November for another visit assisted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) of the Republic of China (Taiwan).

 

This year, by signing the Agreement on Developing and Strengthening Haitian Associations to Improve the Socio-economic Inclusion of People with Disabilities with Eden Social Welfare Foundation and MOFA, Handicap International (HI), an internationally renowned NPO based in France and Belgium, has agreed to launch training programs for volunteers at Centre national de défense des démunis et handicapés (CNDDH), a local NGO in Haiti. The programs, supported and monitored by Eden Social Welfare Foundation and MOFA, will help persons with disabilities in Haiti rebuild their lives after the earthquake. The agreement grants a total of US$100,000 to HI for related projects. Read more here.

 

Donate! Checks payable to Eden Social Welfare Foundation can be mailed to: Eden Social Welfare Foundation 3rd Fl., 55, Wanmei Street, Sec.1, Taipei, Taiwan 116 Or click here to download and fill out the credit card donation form! *Please allow 2 to 4 weeks for a receipt of your donation

To subscribe, please reply to ieden.info@gmail.com with subscribe in the subject line.

Eden E-news: Inaugural issue | November 2012

An award ceremony at the Incheon International Conferences on Disability

in October 2012

Eden Social Welfare Foundation Reelected for Chair of Committees on Accessible Tourism and Transportation of Asian and Pacific Disability Forum

Eden Social Welfare Foundation has achieved another reelection this October for the Committee Chair on Accessible Tourism and Transportation at the Asia & Pacific Disability Forum (APDF) Conference 2012 held in Incheon, Republic of Korea, since its first success in the election in 2006. APDF is an international platform for persons with disabilities as well as non disabled participants from the Asian and Pacific region to network and share experiences and ideas.

Besides APDF, other major INGOs, such as the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP), Rehabilitation International (RI), and Disabled Peoples' International (DPI), were also featured in the Incheon International Conferences on Disability, a one-week series of internatinal conferences where the following awards were given in honor of winners who have made significant contribution to the rights of persons with disabilities.
Please be invited to congratudate with us winners of the awards listed below for their outstanding achievement in promoting the rights of persons with disabilities in Asia and the Pacific: Mr. Katsunori Fujii, Chairperson of Workability Asia (WAS), winner of Toyota Foundation Grants for the 2012 Asian Neighbors Program and 2012 Research Grant Program, also awarded by UN ESCAP as the Champion of Asia-Pacific Disability Rights; Mr. Muhammad Atif Sheikh, President of Special Talent Exchange Program of Pakistan, awarded by UN ESCAP as the Promoter for the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, 2013-2022; Mr. Joseph Kin Fun Kwok, Executive Committee Member and National Secretary for Hong Kong Rehabilitation International, awarded by UN ESCAP as the Promoter of Asia-Pacific Disability Rights.

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Staff at Eden Returned with Great Success at Asian and Pacific Disability Forum, Republic of Korea

Mr. Abraham Hsieh (right), the newly elected Chair of APDF Committee, also

the Director of Eden Social Welfare Foundation Career Training Center for

Persons with Disabilities in Taipei, with Mr. Kyungseok Park, Chairman of

APDF, at this year's meeting in Incheon, Republic of Korea



Representatives of Eden Social Welfare Foundation headed for a compact series of conferences at 2012 Asia Pacific Disability Forum (APDF) in Incheon, Republic of Korea from October 29th to November 2nd. Following the achievements made in the first Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, 1993 to 2002, declared by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP), information regarding the progress and challenges faced during the second Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, 2003 to 2012, is exchanged.

More than three thousand people from over one hundred countries participated in the Incheon International Conferences on Disability, a ten-day intensive series of events and activities featuring UN ESCAP, APDF, and Rehabilitation International (RI), all of which are faithful supporters of the rights and needs of communities with disabilities around the globe.

An active long-term participant at APDF and RI, Eden Social Welfare Foundation has succeeded in making the voice of communities with disabilities in Taiwan heard among members of international civil society, reaching another historic milestone in the progress of the rights of persons with disabilities in Taiwan.

With the closing of the final review of the implementation of the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, 2003-2012, UN ESCAP and the participating international non-profit organizations at the event have agreed to declare “making the rights real for persons with disabilities” a top priority in the first year of a new Asian and the Pacific Decade for Persons with Disabilities, 2013-2022.

Representatives from host organizations posing with supporters with

physical disabilities at the opening ceremony of the event

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Barrier-free Housing Design Contest to be Held in Tainan

The 2012 Barrier-free Housing Design Contest is kicking off. The event is co-chaired by Tainan City Government Bureau of Social Affairs and Eden Social Welfare Foundation. A display house was built to promote the idea of creating barrier-free homes. Prospective contestants may start submitting applications until the 7th of December, 2012. Students who study architecture, interior design, urban planning, and landscape architecture in Taiwan’s colleges and universities as well as professionals in private practices are invited to join the contest for a chance to win the first price of 100,000 NTD.

Tainan Blind Welfare Association and Tainan City Cerebral Palsy Association were joined by other local agencies and advocates with disabilities at the contest’s opening ceremony hosted by Ms. Tsao Ai-lan, Director of Tainan City Government Bureau of Social Affairs, and Ms. Shi Li-yue, Trustee of Eden Welfare Foundation. Read more here.

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H.M. King Mswati III of Swaziland Receives Eden Social Welfare Foundation

Mr. Yin (center right), Board Member of Eden Social Welfare Foundation presenting His Majesty

King Mswati III (center left) with a Chinese landscape painting in token of friendship and

appreciataiton. 

As of October 27th, 2012, Eden Social Welfare Foundation was honored to be graced with the presence of His Majesty King Mswati III, King of the Kingdom of Swaziland, who has visited Taiwan with high level officers and administrators of the Kingdom of Swaziland for the 13th time since 1989.

His Majesty King Mswati III receives staff representatives of Eden Social Welfare Foundation, the Garden of Mercy Foundation, and Chinese Evangelical Covenant Church of South Africa at the hotel of Regent Taipei with the assistance of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of China. Valuable information has been exchanged among representatives of participating organizations and the royal delegation regarding the establishment of a new program for orphans with AIDS in the Kingdom of Swaziland. Read more here.

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Youth Financial Camp with Standard Chartered Bank (Taiwan) Limited

Young participants posing for group pictures at the end of a day full of

learning and fun at the Youth Financial Camp with Standard Chartered

Bank (Taiwan) Limited

Young participant learning how to

operate a currency counting

machine at Youth Financial Camp

with Standard Chartered Bank

(Taiwan) Limited

On the 24th of October, Standard Chartered Bank (Taiwan) Limited, a faithful supporter of Eden Social Welfare Foundation’s breakfast program for children of marginalized communities, held a youth financial camp at its local branch in Dahu, Miaoli, for socially disadvantaged children from Taichung Evangelical Covenant Church and Eden Social Welfare Foundation New Immigration Development Division, Miaoli. Young participants at the event were given the opportunity to learn financial knowledge outside of classrooms as they had a taste of what it was like to work in a financial institute.

Young participants at the youth financial camp were having a lot of fun learning how to manage money with five staff members of Standard Chartered Bank (Taiwan) Limited leading them in group activities. Read more here.

Donate! Checks payable to Eden Social Welfare Foundation can be mailed to: Eden Social Welfare Foundation 3rd Fl., 55, Wanmei Street, Sec.1, Taipei, Taiwan 116 Or click here to download and fill out the credit card donation form! *Please allow 2 to 4 weeks for a receipt of your donation

To subscribe, please reply to ieden.info@gmail.com with subscribe in the subject line.



!!! 2012 Eden International Volunteer Project !!!

Interested in meeting and working with people from different parts of the world?

Interested in changing the world with love and care for the needy?

You’re welcome to explore the beauty of Taiwan, while volunteering around the island!

In Eden, we work hard and play hard!

This year we will keep serving the needed children and students with visual impairments around Taiwan! It's a great opportunity to be a volunteer while traveling in the beautiful Taiwan!

Project duration: 2 Jul ~ 16 Aug  2012

Below is a simple schedule of our International Volunteer Project

DO NOT HESITATE!!


REGISTER NOW!!

2012 Eden International Volunteer application form

(Eligible volunteers are between the ages of 18 - 35 or 16 - 18 with legal guardian consent.)

For more information, please see 2012 EDEN International Volunteer Project

Welcome to JOIN US!!
(Volunteers with physical disabilities are very welcomed!)

April – June 2012	International volunteers and Taiwanese volunteers will discuss and plan through on how to create an exciting programme for the children camps in Taiwan
2 – 6 July 2012	Meeting other volunteers face-to-face in our International Volunteer Training Course before the children camps. International Volunteers arrive in Taiwan, and get to know more about Taiwan and one another
July 2012 (Each period  includes 3 days of preparation and 5 days of camp)	1．Tainan Multicultural Camp for children of new immigrants       6 – 13 July 2012, Dongshan, Tainan County 2．New Taipei English Youth Art Camp for Visually Impaired         13-20 July 2012, Banqiao, New Taipei City 3．Nantou Multicultural Children Camp for remote village         29 July – 4 Aug Hongxiang(Red Cedar), Renai, Nantou County
16 August 2012	We celebrate what we have achieved with our International, local volunteers, and supporters.

Eden Social Welfare Foundation is raising fund to help families in Pingtung, Taiwan. Donate to the cause and help us provide after school activities, classes, and meals for these disadvantage communities in Pingtung.


We hope to raise up to $4,000 by the end of April through Globalgiving to become an official member of the Globalgiving website. Our total goal for the project is $45,900.


You can donate through the the link below:


 
Thank you,
From the staff of Eden Social Welfare Foundation

捲褲管‧反地雷LEND YOUR LEG(助他一腿之力)

捲褲管‧反地雷

　　2011年4月LEND YOUR LEG(譯:助他一腿之力)活動於哥倫比亞展開，此活動目的乃希望藉由人們捲起褲管，進而吸引對哥倫比亞地雷問題的關注。這個活動在當地成功地引起媒體的關注及眾多名人響應，同時受到政府、非政府組織的支持。今年2012年適逢ICBL國際反地雷組織20週年，該組織欲藉此活動擴大宣傳反地雷訊息。此活動目前已有65個國家響應，並於3月1日(禁雷公約生效13周年紀念日)這天開始，全球LEND YOUR LEG活動將鳴槍起跑。並持續至4月4日聯合國世界無雷日(The International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action)。

　　地雷屬於「被動性武器」，踩到者會被炸傷或死亡，武器操作者難以選擇殺傷對象，因此往往殃及無辜。此外地雷的製作與埋設成本均低：人原性殺傷性地雷大小如手掌，每個造價只需3美元左右，然而清除卻需花費100到1000美元；而埋設一枚地雷只需5分鐘，清除卻需要2至3小時。因清除不易，導致戰爭結束後地雷還留在地表下，多年後仍有平民誤觸而傷亡。

　　雖然我國2006年已通過「殺傷性地雷管制條例」，規定不得使用殺傷性地雷，同時主管機關應公告佈雷區域，並應於七年內完成排雷工作，而金馬地區地雷預計今年完成排雷工作。然而，該條例第五條仍允許人員殺傷性地雷的儲存以及在戰爭中使用，實乃該立法為德不卒之處。

世界上有更多更多處於地雷恐懼的人們，國家無力保護他們，沒有錢幫助他們脫離恐懼

       根據最新地雷與集束彈藥監督報告指出：仍有72個國家及其他7個地區受到地雷危害，2010年全球有4191人因地雷而死亡或受傷，然而實際傷亡人數絕對高於此調查數據。

      踩地雷，不只是微軟的遊戲，它是許多人這輩子的遺憾，是數百萬人的夢靨。台灣現在能夠如此富饒，你我得以安然站在這片土地，有人為此失去了青春、付出了代價。現在，你有機會表達對他們的關心；展現你對反地雷運動的支持。

拍照上傳捲褲管照片，讓官員看到、讓政府知道、讓全世界都注意到

快上伊甸國際 臉書粉絲團 - Eden Social Welfare Foundation

Lend your leg官方網站
http://www.lendyourleg.org/

國際反地雷組織
http://www.icbl.org/

集束彈藥聯盟
http://www.stopclustermunitions.org/