TFRD Volunteers return home

TFRD's growth relies not only on the efforts of the staff, but also on the support of the volunteers. The Rare Welfare Center has grown from zero to great, and it is the selfless commitment of the volunteers that has made it what it is today. To honor the long-time active and administrative volunteers of TFRD, we invited 20 senior volunteers to return to Rare Welfare Center on February 11 to see how the muddy soil and dilapidated tin houses have now become a brand new facility. The 500 osmanthus trees, which were transplanted with the help of the volunteers, are now smelling fragrant again.

The two founders of TFRD have been highly appreciative of their volunteer partners and drove to meet them early in the morning. Prof. Min-Chieh Tseng showed everyone the old photos from his cell phone and reminisced with them about the scenes when they first came here to survey, weed, move equipment, and transplant osmanthus on cold and rainy days, and the exciting moment when the 100th osmanthus was transplanted. Each photo evoked a lot of memories in everyone's mind, and the heroic gesture of Mr. Du, the volunteer team leader, who tied his waist brace for several months, seemed to be vividly visible.

After reviewing the photos, everyone was eager to see for themselves how the park looks like when it is finished. After that, we made special arrangements for the volunteers to get some exercise. Under the guidance of team leader Du, the young and strong volunteers went to dig stones in the grass with a small hoe each to protect the children running on the grass from getting damaged. The senior administrative volunteers assisted in gluing the mailing slips of the patients. Everyone had a great time pasting and chatting with each other. This was also the first large-scale volunteer service since the opening of Rare Welfare Center.

The first activity in the afternoon was the DIY bun-making class. Everyone kneaded the dough and all sorts of strange shaped buns were created! After the buns were put into the steamer, everyone went to the Horticulture Classroom laughing and talking. Rare Craftsmen Xin-hui (a patient with LAM), who had been waiting here for a long time, was going to teach everyone how to set up a DIY succulent bonsai.

The two classes ended with a lot of fun for all of us. The volunteers gave their feedback: "It was a great day! It was great!" "Seeing the beautiful changes in the center, I hope to come here more often in the future." In the past few years, due to the pandemic, we didn't have a chance to come out together. It was a great opportunity for us to get together today, so we should meet more often in the future." This activity ended smoothly and successfully. TFRD would like to thank all the heroes who did not ask for anything in return. Your dedication is invaluable, and we hope that the volunteers of Firefly will continue to work with us.

Translator: David Lee (Becker Muscular Dystrophy)