By Marie-Claude Pelchat | Project Leader
Sunshine Foundation decided to set up the Eastern Service Center in Hualian 18 years ago because we saw the difficulty that burn survivors in Eastern Taiwan had accessing medical and rehabilitation services, and we also knew how difficult it was for them to rebuild their psychosocial functions after the injury.
Chang-Po, the current Director of the Eastern Service Center, remembers the beginnings of Sunshine’s work in Hualian and Taitung: “In the early days, we only had one Team Leader and one social worker. Our office was actually another NPO’s storage room that we rented. You can say that we’ve come a long way.”
No mountain high enough, no distance big enough – Delivering services to our clients’ home no matter what
Hualian and Taitung, the two counties covered by the Eastern Service Center, are stretched over a large area and include fishing communities, rural communities, aboriginal communities in mountainous areas... The counties’ characteristics and the vastness of the area makes it difficult for burn survivors to access rehabilitation resources, that is why we gradually developed outreach services, with our social workers and therapists visiting our clients’ homes to provide rehabilitation services. Before the establishment of the Taitung Work Station in 2014 as a satellite office, every home visit required driving back and forth for at least 400 kilometers. It was a challenge for the physical strength and endurance of the staff, but it also trained them to be a flexible service team.
Knowing that we can change lives makes everything worthwhile
Chong-Ming has been working as an Occupational Therapist at Sunshine Foundation for almost 20 years. Nine years ago, he left the Taipei Rehabilitation Center to settle in Hualian and become the Eastern Service Center’s first therapist, bringing with him his expertise in burn rehabilitation and the production of pressure garments.
In Hualian and Taitung, most burn victims are children who are often injured on their hands. Chong-Ming says: “The smallest child I worked with was 10 months old.” Because most families are not well off, the child’s rehabilitation needs are often pushed down the long list of priorities by parents’ who struggle to make ends meet. “In Hualian and Taitung, we often see severe scar contractures. People look at scar photos and think they’re severe cases taken from textbooks, but then they are shocked when I tell them that I’m the one who took the photos.” That is why home rehabilitation services are so important, because early intervention can make a difference between recovery and disability. “I use my burn rehabilitation expertise at different stages of their recovery to help them improve day by day. This is the biggest source of satisfaction in my work.”
After 17 years of roaming, the Eastern Service Center finally found a permanent home
In 2019, thanks to the support of donors like you, Sunshine’s Eastern Service Center was able to finally find a permanent home. Over the years, the Center had to move three times, each office was small and cramped, meaning that the only way to provide services was to do home visits, and with the vast distance, only two to three visits could be scheduled in one day.
But now Sunshine Eastern Service Center has a permanent home big enough to provide physical rehabilitation services and organize activities for clients on-site. Although home visits will continue, the new permanent space and new equipment offer many opportunities to develop more advanced rehabilitation services and welcome more burn survivors.
Sunshine is committed to making sure that burn survivors in Hualian and Taitung do not miss the window of opportunity of rehabilitation after their injury to prevent debilitating contractures. With your help and support, we know that we can improve the quality of life of our clients and their family.
By Marie-Claude Pelchat | Project Leader
By Marie-Claude Pelchat | Project Manager
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