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President Chen to meet

with Garden of Hope clients

President Chen Shui-bian will meet with clients from the GOH, at a private gathering in Taipei in June, aimed at raising awareness of the problems of family violence. The clients bravely agreed to speak out, in order to let the president know firsthand the problems faced by women living with family violence.

The president has supported work for women and children's welfare in the past, and his personal involvement in this event coincides with the GOH campaign to raise funds for a permanent women's shelter in Taitung.

In order to protect the privacy of the women taking part in the event, no photographs will be allowed, but we hope to offer a full report of the meeting in our next e-newsletter.

Help from 7-Eleven

Currently, 7-Eleven is helping us with fund-raising for a permanent shelter in Taitung to help survivors of family violence. The Garden of Hope currently operates one shelter in the area, but must rent the property.

Instead, we are trying to buy our own property so that we can be sure of offering long-term help in the region. Our thanks go to our friends at 7-Eleven for their support, which is making the project possible. Thank you for caring! Look for this poster and donation boxes in 7-Eleven stores around Taiwan.

Generous support

from Taipei's own

'Le The Francophone'

Members of Taipei-based "Le The Francophone" - the association of French speakers -  offered their support to the Garden of Hope in June. The association hosted a speaker from the GOH, and showed their interest to know more about our work.

The association also made a generous donation for GOH services to help women and girls in Taiwan.  Thank you again, for your interest and support!

If you would like to know more about the Garden of Hope, or would like a speaker for your group, please contact us! We welcome all opportunities to talk about our work.

Taiwan downgraded in fight against human trafficking

Taiwan has fallen from Tier 1 to Tier 2 in its fight against human trafficking, according to a recent report by the US State Department, with the report saying that the downgrade was due to insufficient protection for victims.

Tier 1 countries are in compliance with the minimum standards of US anti-trafficking law, while Tier 2 and Tier 3 countries are not. The downgrade from Tier 1 to Tier 2, means that Taiwan does not fully comply with the US minimum standards, but is making significant efforts to bring itself into compliance.

The report also mentions the increasing demand for young foreign women as brides in Taiwan - with the demand at "a record-high rate" - but some women are sold into prostitution after they are "married" and become Taiwan residents.

For more information, this link leads to a news article about the report in the local paper, The China Post. Find the full report from the US State Department using this link.

Please note: The above links will transfer the viewer to an outside site. These links are provided for general information only, and Garden of Hope does not take any responsibility for the content of any outside site.

Who will be 'NGO of the Year' for 2005?

In 2004, the Garden of Hope Foundation was honored by winning the inaugural "NGO of the Year Award" for the entire Asia-Pacific Region. The award was made possible by the Resource Alliance and Citigroup under the banner of "celebrating success, rewarding excellence," and now the organizers are gearing up for the 2005 awards.

To kick off this year's award activities, the organizers will hold a seminar in Taipei focusing on building resources for NGOs here. This is sure to be a useful opportunity for all local groups to learn more about how to increase both financial and non-financial resources, and better help the people and communities they serve.

According to the Resource Alliance, the awards were created to "recognize the achievements of NGOs in the region" and "encourage other NGOs to enhance the quality of their programs." This year, the award will follow a slightly different model, with one entry from each of the eight participating countries being named as a country winner, and the winners chosen from those eight finalists.

We encourage all our brother and sister organizations in the region to enter, and wish them good luck! Find information on the 2005 awards by going to the Resource Alliance's website at: www.resource-alliance.org/ or read more about the Garden of Hope and the 2004 award by clicking here.

Please note: The above link for the Resource Alliance will transfer the viewer to an outside site. This link is provided for general information only, and Garden of Hope does not take any responsibility for the content of any outside site.