Overseas Volunteers
History
The International Economic Cooperation Development Fund (IECDF)
of the ROC created its overseas volunteer assistance program, the
"IECDF Volunteers", in July 1993. The IECDF Volunteers were
comprised of qualified and worldly people seeking to contribute to
the international community by helping to promote development and
prosperity among nations. In July 1996, the IECDF was reorganized
and renamed the International Cooperation and Development Fund (TaiwanICDF).
The name of the program was changed to the Taiwan Overseas Volunteers
in early 2003.
This program has contributed to the promotion of world progress
and prosperity, assisted friendly developing nations with economic
development, and expanded the ROC's cooperative foreign assistance
operations. The role of the TaiwanICDF Volunteers has steadily expanded,
and as of October 2001, 72 volunteers have been dispatched to 16 nations
in Africa, Central and South America, the Eastern Caribbean and the
Asia-Pacific region. The TaiwanICDF has extended its volunteer programs
by cooperating with international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs)
and international volunteer organizations, increasing exchanges between
Taiwan and other nations, and enhancing Taiwan's reputation in the
international community.
The Taiwan Overseas Volunteers work directly with the people of
host countries, which not only benefits the countries, but also provides
a deeper understanding of their culture and traditions to the volunteers.
In 2001, the TaiwanICDF selected, trained and dispatched the latest
group of 14 volunteers to allied and friendly nations.
Scope of Services
The countries to which the Taiwan Overseas Volunteers are dispatched
include developing nations with formal diplomatic relations with the
ROC, as well as other developing countries whose governments, despite
the absence of diplomatic relations with the ROC, wish to cooperate
in economic development and the upgrade of substantive bilateral relations.
All undertakings that can contribute to improving the recipient country's
economic development are within the scope of the volunteers', including
social, educational, and economic activities, vocational training,
and rural development.
Taiwan Overseas Volunteers Projects, 1996-2001
| First Volunteer Team |
| Date |
December
1996 |
| Team
Members |
5 |
| Host
Nation |
Swaziland |
| Primary
Services |
SME
consulting and assistance; computer instruction; assistance
with farmer group development project. |
| Second Volunteer Team |
| Date |
March 1998 |
| Team
Members |
22 |
| Host
Nation |
Honduras, Costa Rica, Malawi,
Panama, St. Christopher and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines,
Dominica, Grenada, Fiji, Swaziland and Senegal |
| Primary
Services |
SME consulting and assistance;
computer instruction and services; plant disease prevention;
language and physical education instruction; rural development
consulting and assistance; administrative services; special
projects; lending services; agriculture extension projects. |
| Third Volunteer Team |
| Date |
April 1999 |
| Team
Members |
14 |
| Host
Nation |
Tuvalu, Costa Rica, Solomon
Islands,Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal |
| Primary
Services |
Instruction in
Chinese, English, mathematics, economics, computers, chemistry;
computer hardware and software maintenance; administrative
services; medical services; agricultural machinery installation,
usage and maintenance. |
| Fourth Volunteer Team |
| Date |
October 2000 |
| Team
Members |
14 |
| Host
Nation |
Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama,
Grenada, Saint Christopher and Nevis, Myanmar |
| Primary
Services |
Instruction in Chinese, folk
dancing, computer software and hardware maintenance, Internet
architecture; pest and disease prevention; agricultural
production-marketing; office administration; overseas Chinese
education. |
| Fifth Volunteer Team |
| Date |
October
2001 |
| Team
Members |
14 |
| Host
Nation |
Costa Rica, Panama, Nicaragua,Sao
Tome and Principe |
| Primary
Services |
Medical and social work; computer
instruction and maintenance; Chinese instruction. |
|
Application and Screening Procedures
Governments of host countries must submit volunteer applications
to their respective ROC overseas embassies or representative offices.
Upon receipt of an application, the TaiwanICDF will negotiate a dispatching
plan with the recipient country's government, to be concluded with
the signing of a dispatch agreement. After the TaiwanICDF and the
recipient country have agreed on the terms of service, the volunteers
will provide the services outlined in the agreement. In order to establish
an effective dispatching plan, each request for volunteers is screened
in accordance with the procedures shown in the following flow chart.
| |
Dispatch Procedures
| The TaiwanICDF recruits volunteers on an
annual basis. Requests for Taiwan Overseas Volunteers must
reach the TaiwanICDF via official diplomatic channels before
March. A volunteer's term of assignment is usually two years. |
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| Collaboration
Between the TaiwanICDF and Host Countries on Taiwan
Overseas Volunteer Assignments
The TaiwanICDF shall be responsible for:
- Travel expenses between the ROC and the host country.
- Living allowances of volunteers during their period
of service.
- Life insurance and medical care.
The host countries will provide:
- Exemption from income taxes and charges of any kind
in respect to any allowance remitted to volunteers by
the TaiwanICDF.
- Adequate housing accommodations.
|
| Services
provided by Taiwan Overseas Volunteers
Basic Consulting Services for SMEs
Volunteers serve with government agencies or chambers
of commerce and industry in recipient countries to assist
in the development of SMEs.
Vocational/Computer Training
Volunteers cooperate with related vocational training
institutions and schools to provide vocational training
and give lessons in the use and maintenance of computers
and commercial computer applications.
Instruction in Chinese Language and Other Subjects
Volunteers cooperate with local institutions or schools
to provide teaching services in Chinese, English, mathematics,
science and other subjects.
Rural Area Improvement
Volunteers work in rural development agencies, providing
services such as teaching, consultation or promotion.
Others
The provision of other services can be negotiated
between the TaiwanICDF and host countries.
Recruitment
Volunteer recruitment is undertaken once a year. The
applicants are given a series of written and oral tests
to gauge their language and technical qualifications,
and to probe their aptitude and adaptability for service
abroad.
Training
In order to strengthen the volunteers' professional
skills and ensure they have the expertise required for
their assignments, the TaiwanICDF provides volunteers
with intensive training prior to their overseas service.
This training includes two to three month-long pre-service
training courses in the ROC. These courses improve volunteers'
language and technical abilities, increase awareness of
volunteer services and the volunteer's ideals, explicate
the national profiles of the countries to which volunteers
are dispatched, and impart survival techniques, such as
first aid skills. A further month of adaptation training
is held in host countries. During this period, the volunteers
receive orientation on the culture and traditions of the
host country, and receive intensive language instruction
from native speakers.
Recent articles written
by Taiwan Overseas Volunteers about their overseas experiences:
Love is the
Best Medicine—by Lee Shu-chin, a Taiwan Overseas
Volunteer in Myanmar.
Giving Love
and Care in São Tomé and Principe—"I
have tried to discover the meaning of my life...and to
learn to lead a simple life with inner peace." Taiwan
Overseas Volunteer Lin Ching-yin's idealism shines through.
River
of Dreams - by Chang Hsing-yun, a Taiwan Overseas
Volunteer in Costa Rica
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