Serving New Immigrant Families in Taiwan For More Than Five Decades

2024 was a busy year for the Pearl S. Buck Foundation Taiwan, as they continued to serve new immigrant families through a range of projects. In the current year, core services have continued while introducing new initiatives.

Many educational opportunities were provided to students, including workplace visits and career day presentations by professionals from various fields of work. A financial workshop utilized board games to simulate workplace scenarios and investment environments, helping youth develop proper values and financial perspectives. On the same day, scholarships were presented to high school, vocational school, and university students.

The Pearl S. Buck Foundation Taiwan once again hosted the “Children’s Hearts in Action—Spring Festival Gathering for New Immigrant Families,” an annual tradition since 2006, marking the first in-person celebration since 2020. Nearly 600 participants attended the gathering, which included the distribution of educational allowance red envelopes and an academic scholarship award ceremony.

Empowerment Training in Hairdressing Skills was also offered as a workshop. Recognizing that many primary caregivers in the families supported by Pearl S. Buck Foundation Taiwan are women, most of whom held entry-level service industry positions that were disrupted by the pandemic, it has been deemed crucial to equip them with professional skills. This not only enhances the employability of these women but also provides the potential for them to start their own businesses. This year, women also had the opportunity to learn how to be nail artists.

Services for families were also provided throughout the year, including interpretive services for children of new immigrant families and to help fellow immigrants in healthcare settings, the opportunity for teenagers to attend summer camp, and family outings to allow parents and children to spend time together and learn how to communicate better with each other. Fun outings such as movie screenings and karaoke helped foster family connections.

Students from the American School’s Helping Hands Club raised funds through charity sales to provide Christmas gifts for children supported by Pearl S. Buck Foundation Taiwan and to organize a Christmas party. 274 Christmas gifts were donated and distributed to the children.