The Second Edition of "One leather suitcase traveling throughout all of Taiwan" service program:
英文編譯／應二甲 林嘉漩、張維哲 Instructor／Irene Lee Reviewer／Jeanne Rile
The Second Edition of "One leather suitcase traveling throughout all of Taiwan" service program:
A 12-day journey to pass kindness around Taiwan
In 2015, the Students’ Autonomy Council and Caring Youth Club launched the second edition of their "One leather suitcase traveling throughout all of Taiwan" service program. On January 19, 2015, the students started the journey from Changhua, going through Chiayi, Kaohsiung, Taitung, Hualian, Yilan, Keelung, Miaoli and Puli: 8 cities and 10 regions. Each student only carried one suitcase while traveling for 12 days; thereby dedicating themselves to many favorite Townships. Their far-reaching services were distributed throughout remote areas: helping elementary schools, Aboriginal people, and community and nursing organizations. In turn, the students received a great deal of support, encouragement, and positive feedback from the public. After returning to school, the students eagerly joined together to share their experiences. They had unanimously decided that although this 12-day service journey had been very hard, the difficulty was worth it since it helped them increase their maturity levels in only a short time.
Activity promoter Deng Ren-hua pointed out that the "Island-wide service program allows participants to realize their own dreams while they are helping others.” Deng stated that while doing the fundraising this year, he not only obtained vigorous support from many institutions and hostels, but also stirred up a lot of attention about the process and benefits of the service project.
Zhang Jia-yu, a Civil Engineering Department student, said that originally, her family was strongly opposed the idea of her becoming a participant in this public welfare service. They hoped that instead, she would wholeheartedly concentrate on studying. Finally, her father yielded to her constant persuasion only one day before her departure. 12 days later, she shared her thoughts and feelings with her family about cooking small fish porridge for elderly people. Her family eventually inspired her to keep moving on.
Su Wei-an, a Department of Information Management student, asked permission from his mom two weeks prior to heading east as a volunteer, and he fortunately received a positive answer and was able to embark on a joyful note. However, Chen Yi-wen, a senior in the Information and Network Communication department, participated in this volunteer program without first consulting her parents. She said serving people is her dream, and felt that it was worth the effort. She feels glad that this dream could be realized before graduation.
Green Gang, Director of the Caring youth Club said: “This trip made me grow up a lot and helped me appreciate the time that I spend with my family.” Another attendant, Chen Yan-lin said: "A kind grandmother told me that life is short, so I should seize every moment of today well; and if I don't do something I might live to regret it ".
The movement of "One leather suitcase traveling throughout Taiwan", which was initiated by CTU student Deng Ren-hua, has affected many places. They hope to be able to show love for Taiwan with their actions, and not just with slogans. They also hope to have more young people join this service program to make our society better and friendlier. This way, the seeds of kindness can blossom and we can cherish them together.
