Ms. Liu Hsia, a female
wheelchair writer suffering from rheumatic arthritis, witnessed
the discrimination against people with disabilities in Taiwan.
In response to God's calling and with a great love for people
with physical and mental disabilities, she decided to create
a place where the disabled are truly cared for and loved -
The Garden of Eden in Dreams. She donated her income from
publishing and initiated a group of Christians who shared
her vision to bring people with disabilities out of their
isolation. On December 1, 1982, Eden Social Welfare Foundation
was founded to serve people with disabilities as well as other
socially marginalized groups.
Ideal:“We are brothers without the same
flesh and blood”,“Give a man a fish and feed him for a day,
but teach a man how to fish and feed him for a lifetime.” Mission: Serving the Weak to Witness Christ,
Promoting Gospel and Welfare to Bring People to God. Vision: Wherever there is a need, there is
an answer from Eden.
The foundation has expanded significantly over the years. Starting with only two part-time employees, today Eden has a staff of nearly 2,000, and almost 25 percent of which are people with disabilities. Originating in Jing-Mei, Taipei, Eden now has 75 service centers in 23 cities and counties across the island, including: Taipei City (1982), Taichung City (1988), Taoyuan County (1993), Kaohsiung City and County (1996), Ilan County (1996), Hsinchu City (1997), Keeloong City (1998), Taipei Cou nty (1998), Hsinchu County (1999), Nantou City (2000), Pingtung County (2001), Miaoli County (2001), HuaLien County (2001), and ChiaYi City (2002). Eden has established overseas branch offices in Penang and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia as well as one overseas service center in Vietnam. Today, Eden serves nearly 6,000 people with disabilities a day.
Eden provides “comprehensive human care” for people between
the ages of 0-65, including vocational training, employment
service, rehabilitation, early intervention, long-term care
service, new immigrant service, and community reconstruction
for disaster victims. Every effort is put together to ensure
that our mission is carried on.
The history of Eden is closely linked to the development
of disability rights in Taiwan. Based on our own service experience
and learning from other countries, Eden has been actively
advocating for the rights of people with disabilities in Taiwan.
We have been pushing for amendments to the Physically and
Mentally Disabled Citizens Protection Act, raising public
awareness to the need of special education, supporting the
legislation of the Act for Social Workers, and advocating
for a professional certification system for social workers.
In addition to serving people with disabilities in Taiwan,
Eden also joins international aid efforts, spreading love
to the world. Ms. Liu Hsia often said, “Being able to love
is a blessing, understanding how to love is wisdom. God's
love transcends race and nationality.” Hence, since 1996,
Eden has been actively participating in international relief
activities and promoting the welfare of people with disabilities
around the world.
Though Ms. Liu Hsia passed away in 2003, her spirit is still alive in Eden. With the new leadership of our President, Ms. Chi-Chiung Lo, Eden will continue our mission to provide professional services for people with disabilities, to support socially marginalized groups, and to share the love of God with people around the world.
Life
is so full of wonders, but the vast majority of physically
disabled people still spend their days in a vale of tears.
I
just wonder what we can do to reduce their tears a little
and make their paths less treacherous so that they are not
defeated by natural or human causes and most importantly by
themselves.
We
must preserve their last bit of dignity and self-confidence,
so they can live as human beings.
The
Founder of Eden Social Welfare FoundationMiss
Liu Hsia
Her Honors
1978: the Second Christian Arts Award
1980: the Eighth Top 10 Brilliant Females Award
1983: the Eighth National Arts Award
1988: the Honorary Resident of the Hua-Lien County
1989: the Honorary Citizen of the Kao-Hsiung City
1990: the Thirteenth Wu San-Lien Awards Foundation's Social
Service Award.
1992: the Honorary Citizen of the Taipei City.
1997: the Honorary Doctorate Degree of the Providence
University.
1999: 1999 Annual Occupational Achievement Award in the
category of writing.
2001: the Taiwanese-American Foundation's Social Service
and Science Achievement Award.
Her Achievements
Consultant and volunteer group leader of the Injury and
Disability Service Center under the Domestic Affairs Ministry
(1965-1967)
Disabled children's instructor of Taipei South Airport
Community Development Center (1965-1967)
Founder of the Eden Welfare Foundation for people with
disabilities (1982)
Standing Chairman of the Eden Welfare Foundation for the
Disabled for the first three terms of office (1982-1989)
Standing Board member of the Eden Social Welfare Foundation
during the fourth through sixth terms of office (1989-2000)
(the Foundation was reorganized as the Eden Social Welfare
Foundation in 1994)
Coordinator of the Disabled Welfare Law Amendment Action
Commission (1989) (the commission was the former organization
of the League of Welfare Organization for Disabled, R.O.C.)
The first director of the League of Welfare Organization
for Disabled, R.O.C.
Resource and Development Division
This Division is in charge of recruiting, collecting, and
managing voluntary human resources, funds, and donated materials.
The Division also plays an important role on furthering
the function of social education, promoting the concept
of a barrier-free environment, developing a friendly urban
network, and creating a world without barriers.
Visually-Impaired Service and Development Division
The vast sky is just a thin line in the eyes of the blind.
Twenty years ago, they were only able to make a living as
masseuses and fortunetellers. The talents they had were
not equally recognized in the traditional society. However,
while God closed the window of eyesight for them, He opened
the door of music and radio broadcasting. Over the years,
this Division has not only helped the blind expand their
careers as masseuses through professional marketing strategies,
but also has designed training courses, such as radio broadcasting
classes and recording programming courses. It has established
a barrier-free recording studio and two choirs, named Joyful
Music and Joyful Grace, of which all the members are visually-impaired.
New Immigrants Development Division
In the Bible, it says, “When an alien lives with you in
your land, do not mistreat him. The alien living with you
must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as
yourself for your were aliens in Egypt” (Leviticus 19:33-34).
Therefore, Eden Foundation holds up the goals of “serving
the minority and the weak,” reaching out to the new immigrants
in Taiwan, and trying to share all the glory, respect, and
peace on this dynamic soil.
Professional Caring Service Team
Based on the mindset of “caring for all,” our services target
physically and mentally disabled people, who are 0-65 years
old. We provide multiple social welfare services. The Professional
Caring Service Team was established on January 1st, 2004
to integrate all of our services, so as to better suit the
societal structure change and put into practice the nursing
and caring services for the elderly, the heavily-disabled,
and patients with chronic diseases.
Professional Career Service Team
The concept of “all people are entitled to equal rights”
is what Eden Foundation has been requesting from society.
We are not asking for privileges. What we are searching
for is human dignity, rather than pity. What we are trying
to regain is selflessness, compassion, brotherhood, respect,
and justice, rather than sympathy and separation. It is
our devotion to assist physically challenged people to establish
a career. To fulfill the goal, we have established various
measures and vehicles including job capability assessment,
characteristics orientation test, and course evaluation
with cooperating corporations. We also provide in-job counseling
services which cover the scope of mental and physical rehabilitation,
life consultation, society skills lessons, job placement,
and follow-ups.
Re-Establishment of Professional Skills Team
We believe that every disabled person has a special talent
to make a living. The disabled can be more than dependents
and consumers but producers, providers, and givers as long
as they are properly trained and provided with appropriate
methods and working shelters on the basis of the capability
of production. Our ultimate goal is to help them return
to normal society. We provide job-training programs with
a emphasis on the idea, “I am born to be capable in some
ways.” We try to encourage the disabled to step up to their
careers by acquiring skills, turning them from thinking
“I can’t, I’m afraid” to “They can, why can’t I?”
Early Intervention Treatment and Education Team
Since 1994, Eden Foundation started to provide services
for families of children with developmental delay in 13
cities and counties around the island. We’ve served more
than 100,000 households. We hope to find developmentally-delayed
children at an early stage and connect them to possible
early-stage treatments. Furthermore, we hope to ensure children’s
right to development by providing supportive services and
setting up a trusting network with their families.
Caring Professions Team This team was established on January 1st, 2003,
and integrated with diverse corporate sectors to form a
team for caring professions. The team is operated with corporate
methods, bearing in mind the common public welfare. The
sector is composed of the following departments: Care Managers
Office, Wheelchair and Other Assisting Vehicles Department,
921 Shelter Factory in NanTou, Public Welfare Marketing
Department, Information Department, Barrier-Free Entertainment
and Education Department, Barrier-Free Transportation Service
Department, Telephone Marketing Department, and Digital
Marketing Department
The Headquarter
We provide well-rounded caring services focusing on the
whole person and the whole life. The organization has professional
divisions of labor, seeking growth through diversified and
separated systems, enhancing our competence, and trying
to obtain extensive resources. We all share the same values
and try our best to maximize added values in society
