wfn.org | Taiwan's Trained Emergency Teams Respond More Effectively

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

Taiwan Church News 2635, September 1, 2002
Reported by Tio Leng-kip, Translated and rewritten by David
Alexander

    In recent years' when natural and other disasters have
befallen Taiwan, church groups have sometimes been prepared to
respond.  Life and death rescue situations often require
especially high degrees of training and preparation which are
generally beyond the ability of churches to offer. But for other
levels of response, relief and reconstruction, churches may be
best placed to give the types of care that people need.
    Taichung Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan
(PCT), located in the central part of the nation, conducted a
training workshop on disaster response on August 24th. Church
members from Taichung and three Aboriginal presbyteries (Tayal,
Bunun and Sediq) attended.  They formed a network for response to
disasters in three mountain districts: Ren-ai, Hsin-yi and
Ho-ping.
    The Rev. Tsai San-hsiung, head chaplain at Puli Christian
Hospital, pointed out that response teams must be trained and
organized if their strength is to be of help.  "Each team member
must clearly understand his or her duties and the necessity of
cooperation with co-workers. This makes it possible to work
quickly and according to a plan.  Assistance to rescue workers
has to flow in clear channels so that quality, effective and
joyful service can be given. Church groups ;must also be able to
cooperate with other organizations to avoid the waste of relief
supplies."
    The PCT's program secretary for Church and Society mission,
Rev. Cheng Ing-erh (Te* Eng-ji) said, "Since 1998 our church's
Social Ministry Committee has called each local congregations to
establish a 'social concern team' and hold a 'disaster response
training session'. But among the twelve hundred local PCT
churches, only 300 have established teams, and only one
presbytery, in Pingtung County, has a formal disaster response
team.  Nonetheless, in the past 5 years, over 600 PCT members
have been part of organized church response to nine disasters."
    Taichung Presbytery's Church and Society Committee chairman,
Rev. Ji Wen-tzong, encourages the establishment of a social
concern group comprising 12 of the presbytery's 72
congregations.  He laments the fact that local organizations
often focus only on the welfare and comfort of only their
immediate neighborhoods and are not equipped for wider scale
disaster response.  He feels that the organizational structures
of the Presbyterian church provide a network model that can be of
great use in times of need.

For more information:  Rev. Cheng Ing-er  enggi@ms2.pct.org.tw
                        Taichung Presbytery  www.pcttcp.org.tw
                                      b8972083@ms25.hinet.net

Taiwan Church News is published weekly in Chinese.
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