TFRD 16th Scholarship Ceremony

“Facing the future, facing the challenge.” TFRD 16th Scholarship Ceremony

The TFRD provided NT$1,931,000 in its annual scholarship program this year to 304 patients of 89 kinds of rare diseases who are now studying at home and abroad.

The program has been in operation for 16 years. As the number of applicants is increasing year by year, the competition among applicants is becoming more and more fierce, the TFRD said.

There remains many siblings among this year’s scholarship winners. This highlights that students of rare disease families do not give up and are willing to help each other, the TFRD said.

The winners also include those who are currently pursuing studies at world-renowned universities, such as Johns Hopkins University in the United States, Waseda University in Japan, and Seneca in Canada.

The ceremony, which was held at the Howard Plaza Hotel Taipei on November 17, also featured performances by some of the winners.

For example, Yunran, a patient of spinal muscular atrophy, performed Kunqu opera. Jiasi, a patient of fatty acid oxidation defects, played the guzheng or Chinese zither. A few government representatives and civil society group members also attended the event to applaud the patients.

In addition, famous Taiwanese baseball players Chien-Ming Wang and Chiang Chien-ming, as well asTaiwan’s top tennis player Lu Yen-hsun, took the time to come to the event. The three big shots attracted everyone for photos and signatures. They also expressed their admiration when understanding the lives of rare disease patients.

Wen han Yu , a rare disorder of Von Hippel-Lindau Disease who just completed a trip around Japan by bicycle and a former scholarship winner, was also present at the event.

He encouraged everyone by saying that learning is not limited to the classroom and that everyone should follow in his footsteps to go out and explore the world. Finally, he gave his latest book about his cycling in Japan as gifts to all the winners.

Translator: William Luo (MPS), Reviewer: Alex Chiang