The Garden of Hope - Media Center

Having a secure and non-violent environment in which to grow up is what we all want for our children in the world. However, physical punishment by parents, teachers or caretakers is usually the first threatening violence children face in their world. No Smacking Day on April 30th was initiated in 1998 by EPOCH-USA to bring attention to the need to end physical punishment of children, and to promote non-violent discipline to protect our children from violence and abuse.

Nowadays, there are more and more child-abuse cases reported in our society. According to research, child abuse often begins with physical punishment being viewed as the only way to discipline children, and is passed on from one generation to another. With the idea of “Spare the rod and spoil the child,” parents might feel expected or even obligated to use corporal punishment “when necessary.” They also may consider it acceptable as a form of discipline without realizing the negative effects on children.

But what do children really learn from corporal punishment? First of all, through physical punishment, children receive the idea of “I am bad, so I deserve to be treated badly” and develop poor self-image and low self-esteem. This keeps children from learning appropriate behavior, and building self-confidence. Children who have been physically punished also feel that they have “paid” for their misbehavior and tend to misbehave again. They have no opportunity to learn from the real consequences of their misbehavior and may learn to ignore their own responsibilities.

Physical punishment also teaches children that physical violence is an acceptable way of dealing with problems. Parents who use physical punishment set an example of using violence to solve problems or conflicts. When parents use physical punishment, children are more likely to use violent acts to deal with their conflicts with other people. Therefore, physical punishment not only puts children at risk from physical harm, but also behavioral and interpersonal problems as well.

No Smacking Day gives us the opportunity to think about what spanking does to our children and society. It encourages parents to learn non-violent and effective ways to discipline children and break the vicious cycle of using corporal punishment down the generations. Non-violent discipline helps children learn problem-solving skills, gain confidence from dealing with problems and become self-responsible adults.

No Smacking Day on Saturday, April 30th, is also the day to re-educate our society to respect other people. With non-violent and positive discipline, we teach children to respect others by respecting them as individuals who have the ability to learn from the natural consequences of their behavior without spanking them. We also need to respect ourselves as parents, teachers and childcare workers, who have the potential to learn new ways to educate children and end violence in our world!

Sincerely,

Ms. Serene Wei

Licensed Professional Counselor/Social Worker

Counseling Department

The Garden of Hope Foundation

Garden of Hope wins top honors in world search for "most innovative" NGO

"Changemakers" award recognizes local anti child-prostitution campaign

(Taipei, Feb. 22) The Garden of Hope Foundation (勵馨基金會) has received the top place among five winners named in the Changemakers Innovation Award for its role in the Anti Child-Prostitution campaign in Taiwan it was announced today. The local welfare group was selected from some 99 entries from 39 countries worldwide, with Changemakers.net choosing 12 finalists, and the public invited to select the final five winners. The award was organized as an initiative of the widely respected Ashoka group.

“It’s such an honor,” said Garden of Hope CEO, Ms. Hui-jung Chi (紀惠容). “We have worked on the problem of child prostitution for more than 15 years now. Winning the top place with so many entries from around the world is really just so exciting for us.

“I hope this award can show the world that our local NGOs are operating at an international level,” Ms. Chi said.

Changemakers praised the Garden of Hope’s public education strategy as “enlisting a deliberate and far-reaching cross section of society [which] has enabled the campaign to spread its reach deep and wide.”

“We hope this can generate more support for the anti child-prostitution campaign worldwide, and that other groups can find our experience useful to help their own work,” said Ms. Chi.

The Changemakers.net network was developed by Ashoka (www.ashoka.org) to provide “inspiration, resources, and opportunities for those interested in social change throughout the world.” The award was designed to recognize innovative ideas among non-government organizations (NGOs) and let them share strategies for building support.

The winners selected in order were the “Garden of Hope – Anti Child-Prostitution Campaign”, “School To School” from India, “Mazury Station - The Center of Developing Professional Activities from Poland”, “Empowering Migrants and Harnessing Remittances for Development” from the Philippines, and “The Second Hand Tools Project from South Africa.”

For more information on Ashoka or the Changemakers.net award, please visit their websites at: www.ashoka.org or www.changemakers.net

President Chen

to speak at GOH conference

Local welfare group will share prize money from Asia Pacific NGO awards; sharing the money will become the “leavening” to multiply the benefits throughout the greater community

President Chen Shui-bian, center, claps as Garden of Hope CEO Ms. Hui-jung Chi, right, and Citibank representative Mr. Victor Kuan, left, show the award for "2004 NGO of the Year" in Taipei.

(Taipei, Sept. 23, 2004) President Chen Shui-bian will attend a press conference for the Garden of Hope Foundation at which the local welfare group will announce plans to share its first-place prize money from the recent Asia Pacific NGO Awards. The conference will take place at the Formosa Regent Hotel - 1F, 41 Chungshan North Rd, Section 2, on Friday, September 24, 2004 from 1:30 -2:30 pm. Mr. Victor Kuan, County Business Manager from award-sponsor Citigroup will also attend.

“We plan to share the prize money,” said Ms. Hui-jung Chi, CEO of the Garden of Hope. “We hope the money can act as leavening to multiply benefits throughout the community,” she said.

The prize money of US$10,000 will be shared equally among the following five services: Samaritana from the Philippines; to establish a women’s service center on Kinmen Island; the Hope Basketball Project in Nantou County; the New York branch of the Garden of Hope; and a planned women’s service center in Taidong.

Also attending the conference will be Mr. Chiang-shing Hsien, CEO of local group the Himalaya Foundation, as well as representatives from Kinmen County, the Hope Basketball Project and other Garden of Hope staff members.

Samaritana is a group from the Philippines, whose work there is similar to the work of the Garden of Hope in Taiwan. The Hope Basketball Project has been a successful youth out-reach program in the Nantou region, initiated by the Garden of Hope following the 9/21 Earthquake.

The Garden of Hope bested 75 entrants from around the region for the highly coveted award presented by the Resource Alliance and the Citigroup Foundation. Mr. Simon Collings, head of the UK-based Resource Alliance said the award was meant “to set standards of good practice for others to emulate,” as well as to motivate local philanthropy.

The local women’s and children’s welfare group was the only finalist from Taiwan, was the youngest among the finalists and was competing against NGOs who have been in operation for 20-30 years. Entrants were required to go through a rigorous selection process during which groups were screened and their operations examined for best practice, transparency and service delivery.

The Garden of Hope Foundation was established in 1988 to help disadvantaged girls and women island-wide. We welcome interest from members of the media and encourage members of the public to volunteer time to help our work. We also seek people willing to help our fundraising efforts. To become involved in this important work, please contact us on 2367-9595 ext. 620.

Garden of Hope named 'NGO of the Year'

Local group awarded US$10,000 for excellence; hailed as ‘best in Asia Pacific'

(Taipei, Sept. 17, 2004) The Garden of Hope Foundation has won first prize at the inaugural Asia Pacific NGO Awards held in Manila, Philippines last night. The Garden of Hope beat out seven other finalists from around the region at an award presentation hosted by the Resource Alliance and the Citigroup Foundation. The local women’s and children’s welfare group was the only finalist from Taiwan.

The Garden of Hope's CEO Ms. Hui-jung Chi receives the award for 2004 NGO of the Year at a presentation in Manila, Philippines. The Garden of Hope won the top prize in a region-wide competition.

“It is wonderful to get this recognition and we have to thank the Resource Alliance and the Citigroup Foundation,” said Ms. Hui-jung Chi, CEO of the Garden of Hope, after the event. “We are very proud that the Garden of Hope can compete at this level and represent Taiwan.

“Our NGOs are already competitive internationally,” Ms. Chi said, “So I hope the government can manage to give our local groups a better environment for their future development.”

The Garden of Hope was also the youngest among the finalists and was competing against NGOs who have been in operation for 20-30 years.

“We’re also very happy to bring some attention to the problem. Sex abuse and domestic violence are difficult things for an adult to deal with. So for these girls and young women life is very hard. We must speak out for them.”

The awards were organized “to recognize the shining examples in the region and set standards of good practice for others to emulate,” as well as to motivate local philanthropy, according to Simon Collings, CEO of the Resource Alliance.

The event attracted some 76 NGOs from around the region, with eight finalists selected for Friday’s award ceremony. Entrants were required to go through a rigorous selection process during which groups were screened and their operations examined for best practice, transparency and service delivery. The other seven finalists were from Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand.

The Garden of Hope has received numerous awards locally for professionalism and was the first NGO in Taiwan to adopt ISO 9001 procedures throughout the organization from administration to service delivery.