Children Are Us Foundation

Children Are Us Foundation (Chinese: 喜憨兒文教基金會) is a charity for people with an intellectual disability in Taiwan.

It was founded by parents of people with intellectual disability in Kaohsiung, Taiwan in 1995. The goal for this organization is to inspire and promote the potential talent of people with intellectual disability or developmental disability. Children Are Us Foundation is a non-profit private organization (NPO) which provides long term care and job training to people with Down Syndrome, cerebral palsy, multiple dysfunction and other mental illness. It works on changing people's general perception, hoping people can understand and respect people with intellectual disability, instead of making fun of them or looking down on them. The principles of the organization are love, professionalism, and humanity. They advocate "self-support" of people with intellectual disability by providing adaptive technology and work opportunity so that they can live normal lives as others.^[1]

Children Are Us is famous in Taiwan for operating bakeries and restaurants that employ people with intellectual disabilities. The first Children Are Us bakery opened in Kaohsiung city in 1997, and the Foundation has since expanded, opening other branches in Taipei city and Hsinchu city^[2]. It has operated an Italian restaurant in Taipei where people with an intellectual disability are employed^[3] and a coffee shop at Taipei's City Hall.^[4] Controversially, the agency has been accused of paying its disabled employees below the minimum wage.^[5]

References

1. ^ Hong, Caroline (June 11, 2004). "Mentally disabled focus of education campaign". Taipei Times: pp. 2. http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2004/06/11/2003174580. Retrieved 2009-08-22. 
2. ^ Chang, Chiung-Fang. "The Children Are Us Foundation: A New Recipe for the Mentally Challenged," Taiwan Panorama. September 2005. http://www.taiwan-panorama.com/en/show_issue.php?id=200599409024e.txt&table=2&h1=About%20Taiwan&h2=Disadvantaged%20Groups
3. ^ "Disabled challenge prejudices". New Straits Times. August 16, 1999. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=mXAWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=rRQEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1758,5795120&dq=children-are-us-foundation. Retrieved 2009-08-22. 
4. ^ Lin, Mei-Chun (April 29, 2000). "Coffee shop highlights possibilities for disabled". Taipei Times: p. 2. http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/local/archives/2000/04/29/34055. Retrieved 2009-08-22. 
5. ^ Ho, Yi (November 6, 2005). "Charity begins with accountability and transparency". Taipai Times: p. 17. http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2005/11/06/2003279046. Retrieved 2009-08-22. 

External links

• (Chinese) Official site