wfn.org | Taiwan: Financial Aid Cases Reach New High as Unemployment Rate Soars

["Lydia Ma" <enews@pctpress.org>]

>Taiwan Church News

>2965 Edition

>December 22-28, 2008

Financial Aid Cases Reach New High as Unemployment Rate Soars

>Reported by Chiou Kuo-rong

>Written by Lydia Ma

According to information from the Executive Yuan, Taiwan’s  unemployment rate reached a new high recently. The Directorate General  of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) issued a report on November  24th revealing unemployment rate in Taiwan for the month of October 2008  reached 4.37%, which also translates into 476 thousands of unemployed  people across the country. This figure is 0.1% higher than the previous  month and marks the highest rate of unemployment for the month of  October in the past five years. Compared to October 2007 figures, there  are 55,000 more people unemployed in October 2008. The DGBAS also  reports that 20% of those who are unemployed are older adults.

In related news, Chinese Christian Relief Association (CCRA) reports  that there were 552 appeals for emergency financial aid from January to  August 2008. This figure reflects a 150% increase from last year’s  figure for the same period and marks the highest number of appeals in  the past five years. CCRA also reports that more than 50% of those  applying for aid are people between the ages of 41 and 65 and 40% are  from ages 19 to 40. Furthermore, over 90% of people applying for aid  between the ages of 19 to 65 cited unemployment as the reason for  seeking help. Only 10% of applicants said they were seeking financial  aid for other reasons.

CCRA Secretary-General James C.C. Hsia points out that behind each new  case presented to the organization is an entire family facing dire  circumstances. Though most families in Taiwan are small families, a  single appeal would still imply that three or four people are struggling  to survive financially. Hsia notes that a lot of applicants are unable  to work because of disability or illness and their families need help  from the government as well as social organizations. He urges government  agencies to come up with adequate programs and compensation packages to  help these families survive during this period of global financial  crisis.

“Mrs. Chao” is a foreign bride from Nanjing, China whose  Taiwanese husband suffered spinal injuries five years ago. When a failed  surgery prevented him from ever working again, the whole family began  depending on Mrs. Chao completely for financial support. She was able to  make ends meet by working as a garbage collection worker and helping  people wrap wanton dumplings. In order to help her, Mrs. Chao’s  children and husband collected recyclable goods with the help of  neighbors and redeemed them for cash. These three jobs barely helped the  family make ends meet every day. Unfortunately, Mrs. Chao’s husband  contracted a viral infection in August 2008. He was rushed to the  hospital and died of blood poisoning and kidney failure after four days.  During the time she took care of her husband at the hospital and  arranged for his funeral, Mrs. Chao was unable to work and the family  had no financial resources. In the end, she received financial aid from  CCRA’s “1919 Relief Center” and volunteers at the  organization helped her get through hard times. “Thank goodness I  got help from people,” she said, “It made me realize love  still existed in the world.” Grateful for the help she received,  Mrs. Chao and her children are now volunteers at the organization. She  often goes out to comfort those in need and is becoming optimistic  again.

James Hsia believes that there are many families with similar stories  out there. Though faith-based relief centers such as “1919 Relief  Center” can only give out $20,000 NTD (equivalent of $600 USD) at  most and arrange for volunteers to reach out to applicants and their  families, these efforts make a world of difference to those in need as  they regain confidence and courage to continue on with life. From  October 2003 to September 2008, “1919 Relief Center” has  helped 2,800 families and set up 550 centers across Taiwan. It offers  families who need help a sum of $5,000 NTD each month for up to four  months.

However, the recent financial crisis has dramatically increased the  number of families seeking help from organizations such as “1919  Relief Center”. At the same time, donors have been less and less  able to give financially as their pocketbooks are also being impacted by  the crisis. For instance, Taipei Orphan Welfare Foundation cited that  the number of donors from January to November 2008 was 20% less than  2007. The foundation even had to cancel its annual thanksgiving meal for  the first time due to lack of funding. Normally, such occasions would  allow orphaned children to get together with their extended families and  encourage one another.

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