Tzuhui Care School, the only placement agency for juvenile offenders in Kaohsiung, is seeking to raise NT$43 million (US$1.45 million) for its new campus after school funding fell 95 percent during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ting Hsin Hede Educational Foundation, which has donated NT$1 million and helped the school to raise funds, is asking the public to donate to support teenagers seeking to turn over a new leaf, foundation spokesman Ou Yang Shao-wei (歐陽劭瑋) said on Friday last week.
Students at the school mostly come from broken homes or have had traumatic childhoods that led them astray, he said.
The school provides daily care, education and counseling, as well as technological and vocational lessons to help students enter and adapt to the workplace, he said.
In the past 13 years, it has helped 182 teenagers, 70 percent of whom have a stable job or graduated from high school or university after leaving Tzuhui, he added.
The school is building a new campus, as the current one is not large enough and the rent has become too expensive, school chief executive officer Hu Ching-ting (胡靜婷) said.
The new campus is to include dormitories, restaurants and offices, as well as classrooms for baking, cooking and practicing other skills, she said.
There would also be environmentally friendly facilities such as solar energy power generation areas and planting areas to operate the school in a sustainable fashion, she added.
Although the school already raised enough funds to purchase the land for the new facilities, construction plans have been hindered by rising costs, labor shortages and reduced subsidies, Hu said.
The school’s income also fell drastically since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in a heavy financial burden, she added.
Despite the difficult situation, teenagers at the school are still moving toward a brighter future, she said.
A 14-year-old, identified by the alias Small P, was drinking, had joined gangs and was using drugs before being enrolled at Tzuhui, Hu said.
Small P participated in career exploration courses and discovered a passion for baking, and has already obtained several baking certificates, she said.
The student appears at ease while kneading dough, she said, adding that Small P hopes to learn other skills and obtain more professional licenses.
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