Report

Jessica Lin

International Vision Outreach Program for Taitung Remote Areas Minority

During this program I learned a lot about the outside world that most people usually don’t get to experience. It gave me a chance to understand the world a little better and see the digital dividend problem. We taught the youth more about the world and how the internet can take you anywhere with the help of Google Earth. This program gave me unforgettable memories and experiences.

For the past seven days it has been a blast. It was something I experienced for the first time. On the first day, we went from Taipei to Taitung and drove to Mibanai restaurant to have a welcome banquet with the County Governor. I got to meet the other volunteers and learn more about them. There, we ate a modified traditional aboriginal meal. The second day we woke up at seven o’clock, rode bikes around the place we lived and ate breakfast at the coffee shop. We had famous Taitung bread, salad, and fresh soy milk, which were delicious. After that we went to the National Taitung University(NTTU) to write a self-introduction on the blog, make a name tag, and talk about what we where going to do later in the day. Later, after lunch, we left NTTU and went up a mountain to get to Lidao Elementary School. On our way to Lidao, there was amazing scenery that could never be seen in the city. At Lidao Elementary, we went and cleaned up the computer room and prepared for the next day’s class. After a day of hard work cleaning, we had dinner and we separated into two teams. On the first team there were Jonathan, Thomas, Elton, Jenny, and Howard; on the second team there was Georgina, Joey, Cindy, Hannah, and myself. Then we went to Lidao police station dormitory to spend a night. When we were all done taking a shower, all the volunteers got together and played cards, this was were we all started becoming friends. The next day, we met the kids of Lidao and they were very fun to be with. Most of the kids were very active which made the class fun and easy to teach. One of the kids that we met was named Ken, and for his self- introduction he sang a Chinese song that made me get the chills. Out of all the kids he was the most memorable, along with a boy named Jerry, who was super cute. During the day we taught the kids Google Earth and made a team flag. Team one’s flag was called Bunun and Team two was called Duma. After lunch, we had a break and then played American football. Later we went to the kitchen to help the other volunteers and helper with dinner. At night we had a BBQ withe Lidao kids in the rain, it was very unusual, but it was definitely memorable. The kids sang many songs, which made it fun and we ate a whole bunch of food. After that we went back to the dormitory and stayed played cards again.On the fourth day, we had to leave Lidao a day earlier because they were scared that the roads will be blocked because of the typhoon was coming. Before we left, we taught the kids “Mary had a Little Lamb” and “If Your Happy and You Know it”, and the kids taught us their tribe chant. After we got off the mountain we were informed that there was an avalanche that would have blocked out way down the mountain. When we got a restaurant for lunch, Georgina and I sat in a train and ate our lunch while all the people were inside the restaurant. During that day, the weather was extremely bad and many buildings were destroyed that day. After lunch we dropped my mom and some other parents off at the train station, so they can go back to Taipei. Then we went to a Rice museum and learned about how its made and the many stages. Unfortunately, the bridge to the place that we were going next was destroyed by the typhoon and we had to stay there for about an hour, so Jonathan, Georgina, Thomas, Hannah, Howard, and I painted wind chimes. Later that day we ate McDonalds for dinner and hanged out with the other volunteers. The next day was our free day, we went to the beach and show a whole bunch of wood on the sand, ate peanut and red bean mochi, and went to DarWan Church to put some stuff down for the next day. At night most of the volunteers went out the eat steak and shop around the supermarket. On the sixth day, we met a new set of kids and taught them Google Earth and drew pictures relating to the Church. Afterwards, we organized an English Bible Story that we were going to perform the next day. On our final day, it we looked up songs on youtube with the kids and taught them how to sing “Mary had a Little Lamb”. We played with the kids for most of the day and sang and danced with them. When the day was almost over, we took many pictures with the kids and church volunteers and said a few last words before we left.

From this experience I met new friends, learned new things, and enjoyed every second of it. My most unforgettable memory would have to be the day we stayed at Lidao Elementary because it was a very different environment compared to the one I am usually in and the kids were fun to be with. The BBQ at Lidao was a very unique experience because it was raining and the kids were singing tribe songs that sounded very beautiful. I really liked how we went to the elementary school with all the people that had to evacuate, because some of the people said some very touching stories that made me cry.

For this program, I really hope they have it next year because it is a great opportunity for people from other countries to understand the divide problem in Taiwan. I think that this program should be a little longer because we would be able to do more to help end the divide and become closer with the kids. I also think that they should do more things like teaching American traditions and songs. This was an unforgettable experience and hope this program keeps on going.