Taiwan volunteers advance development work in partner countries
2020/06/15
Top-notch professionals participating in Taiwan’s Overseas Volunteer Service (TOV) are advancing socio-economic development work in partner countries, highlighting Taiwan’s commitment to promoting growth and prosperity around the world.
Run by Taipei City-based International Cooperation and Development Fund (TaiwanICDF), TOV has three operational goals: to send qualified volunteers to projects in participating countries; to deepen Taiwan’s relationships with its allies and like-minded partners; and to promote cultural exchanges and mutual understanding.
Since TaiwanICDF’s establishment in 1996, the nation’s foremost foreign aid organization has dispatched more than 770 volunteers to facilitate economic growth and social development in 42 countries.
Volunteers are drawn from fields in which Taiwan excels, such as agriculture, education, environmental protection, information and communication technology and public health.
According to Wang Hung-tzu, director of the organization’s Humanitarian Assistance Department, the program is paying dividends for volunteers and host countries alike.
“Participants tell us they’re delighted with the changes to their self-confidence after volunteering abroad,” Wang said. “Other benefits we hear about include improvements to cross-cultural communication, interpersonal relationships, language proficiency, problem-solving and self-awareness.”
TOV participant Chang Shu-hui wholeheartedly agrees with Wang, having experienced many of these benefits herself.
After a decade serving on the front line of Taiwan’s health system as a nurse, Chang decided she wanted to use her experience to help people abroad without access to the world-class treatment on offer at home. In 2006, she began a master’s in international health at National Yangming University’s Institute of Public Health in Taipei City and participated as an overseas medical volunteer for the first time
Since then she has made medical mission trips to more than 10 countries spanning Africa, the Asia-Pacific and Caribbean.
She served in Taiwan’s Central American ally Nicaragua from 2017 to 2019, responsible for conducting data compilation and analysis at a clinic, organizing rural community health promotion campaigns and teaching oral hygiene at primary schools.
According to Chang, deploying ICT systems and raising awareness of public health issues will deliver far-reaching and long-lasting benefits for local people.
“I’m immensely grateful for every opportunity I’ve had to share my expertise while experiencing different cultures,” she said. “Nicaragua was probably the most fulfilling volunteer experience of them all.”
Participating in TOV has made Chang more confident, having solved problems and dealt with situations that would never have arisen in Taiwan. She has also started learning Spanish after falling in love with the language during her stay abroad.
“My time in Nicaragua gave me a renewed sense of purpose,” Chang said. “I can’t wait to get back overseas when the opportunity arises.”Chang found her two-year stay in Nicaragua an immensely rewarding experience. (Courtesy of Chang Shu-hui)
Source: Taiwan Today (https://taiwantoday.tw/index.php)
