Founded in the 1970s by a Canadian Mennonite missionary, the Taiwan Mennonite New Dawn Educare Center is now a modern 7-storey building providing both day and residential services to 270 clients, most of whom have severe disabilities.

The Centre works hard to ensure that both the clients and their families are as equipped as possible to deal with the many different aspects of living with a disability as well as caring for a person with a disability. A serious issue many families face is that of ‘double aging’. Since people with disabilities can age earlier than the general population, elderly parents often find themselves no longer able to care for their children.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a complex developmental condition and is the fastest growing type of disability in Taiwan. Construction of Joy Farm, a specialized care centre for people with ASD is now underway.

Goals 

The goal of this project is to raise funds for the construction of the Joy Farm care centre for people with Autism Spectrum Disorder and to provide ongoing care for economically disadvantaged clients of New Dawn Educare Centre.

Activities

Joy Farm

Construction will continue on the Joy Farm project. With ongoing input from parents and families, the facility will provide residential care for 64 adults with ASD and day-care for 16, giving hope to both clients and their families.

New Dawn Educare Centre

A wide range of education and therapy methods are offered, including music, animal and art therapies, vocational training and internships/employment with local businesses and more. The Centre also offers the most complete transition services in Hualien.

A strong emphasis is placed on proper nutrition as an key element of overall health. Specialized diets that follow the guidelines in the Healthy Eating Index are offered according to each client’s specific needs. As part of the nutrition program, each client is evaluated annually.

Key Key Performance Indicators to be reached (KPIs)

• Clients of New Dawn continue to work towards realizing their full potential;
• Centre for adults with ASD is built and 64 residential and 16 day-care clients benefit from state-of-the-art facility.

 Myriad Canada is working with the Taiwan Mennonite New Dawn Educare Centre on this project, a non-profit organization that helps people living with disabilities and their families live their fullest and most productive lives.