Taiwan volunteers visit Special Needs school

On May 28, four Taiwanese volunteers – Elsa CHANG, Smile CHIANG, Henry LAI and Shaoyi WANG, visited the School for the Children with Special Needs to introduce its thirty-five students to the traditional Dragon Boat Festival which occurs on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar, in 2009, falling on May 28.{{more}}

Around 10 a.m., with gift bags full of T-shirts, stationery, fruits and peanut brittles prepared by the Taiwan Mission, the volunteers arrived at the School and received a warm welcome from the acting Headteacher Naseem Smith-Williams and all the students. The volunteers were accompanied by Richard CHEN, First Secretary of the Embassy and Chin-Yu LEE, Chief of the Mission. Chen, on behalf of the Embassy, made a donation of dustless chalks, Bristol Board and AA batteries (for Hearing Aid) to the School and wished all students and teachers a happy Dragon Boat Festival.

The volunteers explained the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival and shared that the Taiwanese people will eat ZONG- ZI (glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo leaves) and hold a Dragon Boat race in observance of the Festival. Then, they sang the song ‘Top of the World’ and danced with the students. At snack time fruits and peanut brittles were distributed to all students and teachers. Each student also learned how to make a pinwheel and colored a picture of a dragon boat.

Smith-Williams expressed her heartfelt appreciation for the unforgettable experience that the Taiwanese volunteers shared with the students. The volunteers stated that the activity also fit with the UN Millennium Development Goals to support those children with special needs.

The event was sponsored by the Embassy of ROC (Taiwan) and Taiwan Technical Mission.