wfn.org | Taiwan's New Hope Foundation Offers Jobs to Ex-cons

["pctpress" <pctpress@ms1.hinet.net>]

Taiwan Church News 2717, 22 through 28 March 2004
Reported by:Gu Hao-jan.  Translated and Rewritten by David Alexander

The New Hope Foundation is not just a purveyor of boiled dumplings foods and
boxed lunches, it is getting set up to meet the summer months with ice cream.
The foundation has been building up experience and a reputation in the
dumpling trade for two years. Its box lunch workshop has been in operation a
year, producing all manner of combination meals.  The operation builds on
skills that the workers learned while in prison and gives an opportunity to
use those skills to earn a living in society.

The foundation opened in August of 2001 to help people who had come to
Christian faith while imprisoned to make the transition into Taiwan's general
population.  The workshop was developed to provide employment. From simple
through more complex products it has developed its output and the skills of
its employees.

Evangelist Lin Chung-hsiang says that the entire operation has grown, but
"earning money was never our aim. We look more toward the stability of
spiritual lives built on work, devotion and prayer. Everyone seeks to see
changed and reformed lives."

Pastor Lin says that working together to assemble boxed lunches gives
employment, companionship and motivation.  The meals are sold from small
carts
so workshop clientele find it necessary to participate in Taiwan's the
general
social mix.

The foundation is gearing up for the summer months, equipping the workshop to
produce frozen treats made with "Taiwan content and American style.'

In addition to male clients who come to the workshop from half-way houses,
the
foundation has established its own half-way house for women using similar
design and models. The hope is to give women who have come to Christian faith
while in jail the support they need to grow and contribute to society.

For More Information: New Hope Foundation: TEL +886 2 2916 1575 ext. 531
Taiwan Church News is published weekly in Taiwan's local languages.
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