The Establishment of Shelter Workshop Has Helped Disabled People Find Their Stages

In early 1971, when Ms. Joyce Meredith McMillian first came to Taiwan with a medical team from Unite States, she was astonished to find that in the Changhua region, many children with polio crawling on the ground due to deficient treatment and rehabilitation resources. Therefore, she resolutely established the “Erhlin Happy Christian Homes”.

The chairman Chen Chung Sheng was one of the children in the “Erhlin Happy Christian Homes.” Knowing the difficulties that disabled people might face once start to work, he and some other people from the Erhlin Happy Christian Homes together established the “Joyce-Agape Association” (hereinafter referred to as “the association”) in March of 2004 and named their rented workshop “Agape Shelter Workshop.”

Chen Chung Sheng believes that the only way for people with disabilities to stand on their own feet with dignity is to nurture their specialties. Noticing many typesetting and designing cases are charged too expensive by large companies and undoable in smaller ones, the association found their potential market. With computer skills along with art design, typesetting, they have developed diverse products, which are displayed in Changhua, Taichung and some other areas for marketing and exhibitions allowing consumers to purchase easily.

The Subsidy of the Multiple Employment Promotion Program (MEPP)Has Supported the Disabled to Retrieve Their Dignity

Since 2004, the association has zealously applied to join “Multiple Employment Promotion Program (MEPP)” held by Ministry of Labor (MOL) hoping to provide more regard and care to？people with physical or mental impairments. Upon joining “the Program of Digital Output Marketing and Design Center for People with Disabilities” (hereinafter referred to as “Digital Marketing Program”), the association has taken part in activities and used various marketing channels to acquire more purchase orders. Furthermore, the association also acquired the ISO9001 certification. By executing all the requirements within ISO9001, the association has not only raised sales volume and lowered the cost on paper purchase but also increased the job opportunities to vulnerable groups.

Digital Marketing Program offered the chance for disabled people to train their skills in the digital printing, personalized printing service, network and digital output service, electronic book, and to establish their digital archives.

By providing job opportunities and vocational training, the association has strengthened these disadvantaged people with digital techniques. Moreover, it has also established a Case Center, thus once the market is open, it will be easier for the physically disable to work happily at home.

The association has continuously kept developing 15 to 20 new clients every month. The number of clients with consistent orders is also stabilized. As the annual revenue of digital output marketing and design business is substantial, its profits are sufficient to pay its employees. The financial independence in this association is gradually come into existence.

In terms of assisting employees in fostering their vocational capabilities, the association analyzes vocational capability of each employee and hires professional instructors to offer？trainings. Besides, the association let senior employees to lead new comers and to help them enhance their professional capability.

On top of that, the association devotes itself to the community. It not merely provides the disabled in Chunghua county employments to solve their economic problems, but also offers products with local features to revitalize local tourism industry. All of these create the hope for the disabled and the middle-aged and senior unemployed.

In regard to business, the association also has some creative and practical ideas, such as in addition to current digital output marketing and design center, it plans to have another brand new business in a different field, working more on online marketing to appeal to online purchasers or designing DIY or visiting trips for the youth and participants to know more about its business and art works made by vulnerable groups.

Although the association has only been founded less than ten years ago, it devotes its every effort to realize their beliefs in “do the best” and “make the best.” It trains the disabled and the middle-aged and senior unemployed to acquire professional skills and positive work attitude. It also cooperates with local arts and crafts associations, diverse industrial groups, culture and tourism promotion association and so on to co-develop and market artworks featured with local characteristics. The effect of alliance doesn’t only promote the brand and its reputation but also the competitiveness in the market. By continuously earning affirmation and credits, the association is able to maintain its sustainability.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Please attribute this article to “Workforce Development Agency, Ministry Of Labor”.