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The Lions Club serves from Melbourne to Taiwan

We are very excited to announce a new project made possible by a wonderful donation from the Carlton Lions Club in Melbourne, Australia, and facilitated by the Lions Club of Taipei Capital. The Lions take the motto "We Serve" and this gift from the Carlton Lions will assist more than 200 families in a remote rural community in eastern Taiwan with an education project aimed at helping indigenous children stay in school.

        Mr. Montie Barron, from the Carlton Lions Club offered the money to help children in Taiwan, and Mr. Karl Yin of the Taipei Capital Club recommended the Garden of Hope Foundation. Our heartfelt thanks go to everyone from Carlton Lions Club and the Lions Club of Taipei Capital for making this project possible.

        The project will operate on several levels to give children the extra help they need: it will focus on boosting the children’s experience at school through after-school academic help and support, as well as involving parents in their children’s education. Currently, the GOH can only afford one social worker in a community of 2,000 people, but this gift will also fund extra social workers to work with children, young people, their parents and guardians to prevent neglect and abuse, including physical and sexual abuse. In this way, the funding will have a very practical, positive and long-term affect on lives of some of the most disadvantaged children.

        The picture above shows (from left) Mr. Chai-Kwok Lam and Mr. Rick Chen from the Taipei Capital Lions Club, and Ms. Hui-jung Chi, CEO of the Garden of Hope, as they hold a check for the donation. The presentation was made at the annual inauguration dinner for office-bearers in local Lions Clubs, and was attended by more than 300 members from across Taiwan.

        We look forward to providing a report early next year to follow-up on the results of the project. Thank you again Carlton and Taipei Lions!

The GOH had several private donors in June. We would like to take this opportunity to offer our sincere thanks to those individuals for their thoughtful gifts, which will also go towards helping women and girls!

Some 'sweet sisters' from New York

We are very pleased to introduce readers to our very first "sister" organization - the Lower Eastside Girls Club, in New York City. The club has a wide range of wonderful programs, in fact more than 20 activities for girls divided into four main program areas. These include a business and leadership program, a mentoring program, health awareness program and educational support.

        That translates to an even wider range of activities such as work experience, homework help, reading, writing, dance, drumming, job training and much, much more.

        Some highlights of the program are the "Sweet Things" bakery and cafe, a mother and daughter program where moms and daughters learn everything about running a small business, from business management and food preparation, to customer relations, sales, and packaging. Other great opportunities are the "Juice Joints" run by students in their own schools!

        There are also several activities which join with both local and international groups to deliver great opportunities for girls. There is a travel and photography program in which participants take part in an exchange with girls in Chiapas, Mexico, and develop their writing and photography skills. There is a girls' science program in cooperation with a local engineering school, and numerous mentoring programs which match a girl and a local volunteer for individual support, help and guidance.

        Reading about the club, you can't help but get the feeling it's more like an extended family, with get-togethers and dinners every week for girls to talk about the issues they face. To find out more about this great group, visit our "sweet sisters" online at http://www.girlsclub.org/index.html

Please note: The above link 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.

Local women call for more services and support in meeting with President Chen

Last month also saw President Chen Shui-bian meet with more than 40 former clients from the GOH, at a private gathering in Taipei. At the meeting, the president heard first-hand accounts of the hardships facing some women in Taiwan society, especially those former survivors of family violence and abuse. In turn, President Chen promised to do more to help women end the threats of violence against them, and praised the contributions made by all women and mothers.

        "As a man, I say to other men - what you contribute to your family can never compare to what your wife contributes," he said.

        The president also urged men to take a stand against domestic and family violence and speak up in the community to help put an end to the problem.

        The meeting with the president was aimed at raising awareness of family violence. It coincided with a fundraising campaign to build a permanent shelter for women and children Taiwan's southeast city of Taidong. Currently, the Garden of Hope runs an emergency shelter for women and children in Taidong, but must rent the property. With help from 7-Eleven, we hope to raise enough 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, which is making the project possible. Thank you for caring! Look for this poster and donation boxes in 7-Eleven stores around Taiwan, or click here to download a donation form.

        Click here to read the full story from the Taipei Times.

Please note: The above link 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.

New web pages with a little help from our friends

There's something really new at the GOH website - we now have information in French and German - and it's all thanks to some talented volunteers. We would like to thank Sarah Gowen and Deike Lautenschläger for their help with the new brochures and web pages. 

        If you would like to help, we would love to add your language, too! We have a one-page document in English of general background about our group. We will use the information to add a web page and make a small brochure. Please contact Robyn at robyn(at)goh.org.tw for more information.