“Love has no disability” is the theme of a weeklong event introducing voluntary work for the mentally and physically disabled from Oct. 21 to 24 in the Business and Management Building. The organizers of this event are the Center of Resources for the Blind, Extracurricular Activities Guidance Section and four student social welfare clubs, which are the Sign Language Club, Torch Welfare Club, Blind Welfare Club, Fortitude-Simplicity Club respectively. The opening ceremony will take place in the Exhibition Hall of the Business and Management Building. All university resources centers and schools for the visually impaired in Taiwan are cordially welcome.

In celebrating this event, there will be a music concert at the Carrie Chang Music Hall at 7 p.m. on the first evening. The program of the concert comprises an opening dance performance by Chen Kwang School for the Disabled of Taipei County; a music performance by a three-man band from the School for the Visually Impaired of Tai-chung City; songs in Taiwanese by Ms. Bai-hsiang from the Service Center for the Visually Impaired, Taipei City; a harmonica performance by Yue Zong-kun, a TKU alumnus; and a piano performance by Chu Kai-li, a senior from the Department of History, TKU. This concert will be co-hosted by two TKU alumni, Misses Huo Hsiu-chen and Hsieh Hsing-hsian.

On the second evening, Oct 22, there will be a speech at 7:30 p.m. given by a renowned painter, Hsieh Kun-shan, who paints with his foot and mouth, on “Splashes of water on a rock—my life experience”. He will speak about how he came to terms with his disability, thus learning to manage his emotions and lead an independent life, a life, in which, he has learned “not to see what one has lost, but what one has.” His speech will be assisted by TKU alumni Hwa Jin-kai, Yang Sheng-hong and Lee Ke-han from the Department of Public Administration.

There will also be an exhibition held at the Exhibition Hall of the Business and Management Building. The exhibition includes experiences of disability, achievements of the services provided by student clubs, facilities for the disabled and a book fair. Visitors can choose which ‘disability’ they would like to experience, be it a physical, visual or audio, at the beginning of their tour. With this chosen disability, they shall go through the entire exhibition, which also includes a massage by disabled professionals. The organizers believe this experiential approach is an ideal way of introducing to the students and staff the life of the disabled. By understanding the mental state and the inconveniences these people are encountering on a daily basis first hand, students and staff will also learn how to provide suitable assistance. Everyone is welcome to join such an experience.