"Last summer they started to do their social service in foreign counties and served people they've never met before." Continuing the first international volunteer program in 2007, this year's program is further expanded from four teams to nine with destinations spanning Nepal, Ghana, Aceh and Medan of Indonesia, Tanzania, Yinchuan of Ningxia and Qinghai.

The first to embark on their trip as well as spent the longest time aboard was the Nepal team, whose missions were assisting in medical cares, delivering health education and taught in local villages. In order to develop a long-term program, the team has for two consecutive years journeyed into the Chitwan area. A new service offered this year was an educational program for local volunteers on basic health care and emergency medication. In turn the local volunteers would act as knowledge disseminators in the tribal villages. Recalling his trip, Institute of Materials Science and Engineering student Jia-yan Tan mentioned an unforgettable experience in which he helped his teammates treat a child whose head had a lesion full of pus. The teammates had to press down the struggling child's arms and legs when he treated the lesion.

There were two teams that went to Indonesia on IT-related missions. Their main tasks involved promoting knowledge and skills in the use of Internet. At the Aceh University, they held workshop and invited the university students to participate in the event. In Medan the program was further expanded to incorporate ecological education into IT courses. They also held a summer camp to give local junior high school students a chance to understand the significance of integrating information technology and environmental protection. Hong-da Yan of the Department of Chinese Literature said that the volunteers did not see themselves as teachers but as friends who share their knowledge.

There were two other teams that travelled as far as Africa, one to Tanzania and the other to Ghana. The Tanzania team taught primarily in local schools as tutors. To find better ways to help local students, they consulted with local teachers and worked with local churches for a deeper understanding of the local education system and environment. The Ghana team, on the other hand, focused on conducting environmental surveys, setting up wireless internet accesses, learning local cultures and assessing the environment for future Internet access establishment. The team ventured deep into the rainforest and studied the local ecology in the hope of providing better information solutions in the future. The 23 volunteers that went to Africa were impressed by the local people's passionate nature and energetic personality. "They (the Tanzanians) may not have adequate material resources, but they were eager to improve their situation. And although they did not have the same standard of living as the Taiwanese, they all have a joyful smile on their face," said Man-tong You, a senior in the Department of Chemistry.

Volunteers that went to Yinchuan in Ningxia, China, were students selected from the four universities in the University System of Taiwan. The team also collaborated with Town and Talent Technologies of the Sayling Wen Cultural & Educational Foundation as well as charity organizations from Hong Kong to offer a 2008 Oxford English Summer Camp in Zhangyi Middle School. The camp offered English programs and field trips. Meanwhile, activities organized for Qinghai Huangzhong First Senior High School Education included tutoring sessions in English and basic science. The team taught the usual senior high school subjects (English, math, physics and chemistry, arts and humanities) as well as offered many more independent and fun courses, such as film appreciation, introduction to Taiwan and university life etc. In addition to imparting their knowledge and sharing their experiences, the team promoted exchanges in ideas and culture between Taiwanese college students and high school students in Qinghai. Other international volunteer programs included Chinese language education in Chinese schools in Vietnam and a summer camp for an elementary school in a leprosy village in Qingdao.

Even though each team went to a different country on different missions, everyone said they were rewarded with many touching stories and knowledge about the world outside of textbooks. The Chinese have a saying, "To travel ten thousand miles can be more insightful than reading ten thousand books." Through these volunteering experiences, they have gained a deeper understanding of the world and its diverse cultures and faces.

Center for Service Learning