Greetings from Norway
We are six Norwegian girls who are very devoted to the thought of helping others overcoming their problems and personal struggles. As part of our Bachelor Program in Social Work, we went to visit Taiwan to learn about social work and how it can be performed in another culture.
We chose to visit Taiwan because we found the thought of this highly developed country with a rising welfare state intriguing, which none of us really knew much about beforehand. After many hours of online research, we were delighted to find an organisation called Good Samaritan. For us, the name of the organisation symbolizes the positive values optimism and friendliness. We sent an email to Sister Marvie where we explained our mission, and that we would appreciate if we somehow would be able to visit this organisation to learn about their work. We arrived in mid-January and stayed in Taiwan for five weeks.
Being in Taiwan, we realised how similar the social problems here are to those we see in Norway. The most striking similarity is the focus on unemployment, the need of having a steady job to go to each day. The Norwegian state has many programs meant for people who are unemployed, and we see that this is also something the Taiwanese government work to implement. Homelessness is common in Norway too. Even though the similarities are there, we realise the causes for the problems may not be the same. And different causes demands different solutions. In Norway the government have the primary responsibility to make sure that people maintain an acceptable livelihood, as in Taiwan they have a different approach. We applaud the voluntary work in Taiwan. It touches our hearts to see how the Taiwanese people are willing to donate both their time and money to help those in need.
One thing that really struck us about Taiwanese culture is the friendliness and openness that met us wherever we went. This is perhaps the most striking difference if we are to compare Taiwanese and Norwegian culture. We met people who were willing to help us with everything we needed, and we always felt welcome. This of course also includes Sister Marvie and everyone at Good Samaritan. Without them, we suspect that we would not have learned anywhere near as much as we did. Always willing to help us, whether it was guiding us around Taichung city, or helping us get in contact with other resourceful people.
During our stay, we were able to observe how Good Samaritan work to help homeless women. We joined them on their tours around town to hand out food, water and blankets, and saw the joy this brings. Also for the women who use the center, we saw that the Good Samaritan is a place of warmth and respect where people always work hard to make everyone feel like part of the community. They share stories, some of them similar to each other, and find strength in the bonds they have with each other. Everyone is treated equally, yet everyone is always free to be themselves and grow in their own pace.
We find the work Good Samaritan important. Being able to observe how much of an impact the center has on the lives of the people in the community is impressive.
One important thing we learned is this: one does not need to speak the same language to communicate. We will always remember the nights where we sat with the women at the center, watching films, sharing meals, and playing cards. Even though we did not understand much of the words, we still felt like we were able to communicate well. One does not need a common language to understand the meaning of a smile.
We would like to thank everyone at Good Samaritan Center for their time, and for making our stay in Taiwan an unforgettable experience.
Best wishes,
Aase, Ailin, Grete, Maren, Odrun and Rebeca
We are six Norwegian girls who are very devoted to the thought of helping others overcoming their problems and personal struggles. As part of our Bachelor Program in Social Work, we went to visit Taiwan to learn about social work and how it can be performed in another culture.
We chose to visit Taiwan because we found the thought of this highly developed country with a rising welfare state intriguing, which none of us really knew much about beforehand. After many hours of online research, we were delighted to find an organisation called Good Samaritan. For us, the name of the organisation symbolizes the positive values optimism and friendliness. We sent an email to Sister Marvie where we explained our mission, and that we would appreciate if we somehow would be able to visit this organisation to learn about their work. We arrived in mid-January and stayed in Taiwan for five weeks.
Being in Taiwan, we realised how similar the social problems here are to those we see in Norway. The most striking similarity is the focus on unemployment, the need of having a steady job to go to each day. The Norwegian state has many programs meant for people who are unemployed, and we see that this is also something the Taiwanese government work to implement. Homelessness is common in Norway too. Even though the similarities are there, we realise the causes for the problems may not be the same. And different causes demands different solutions. In Norway the government have the primary responsibility to make sure that people maintain an acceptable livelihood, as in Taiwan they have a different approach. We applaud the voluntary work in Taiwan. It touches our hearts to see how the Taiwanese people are willing to donate both their time and money to help those in need.
One thing that really struck us about Taiwanese culture is the friendliness and openness that met us wherever we went. This is perhaps the most striking difference if we are to compare Taiwanese and Norwegian culture. We met people who were willing to help us with everything we needed, and we always felt welcome. This of course also includes Sister Marvie and everyone at Good Samaritan. Without them, we suspect that we would not have learned anywhere near as much as we did. Always willing to help us, whether it was guiding us around Taichung city, or helping us get in contact with other resourceful people.
During our stay, we were able to observe how Good Samaritan work to help homeless women. We joined them on their tours around town to hand out food, water and blankets, and saw the joy this brings. Also for the women who use the center, we saw that the Good Samaritan is a place of warmth and respect where people always work hard to make everyone feel like part of the community. They share stories, some of them similar to each other, and find strength in the bonds they have with each other. Everyone is treated equally, yet everyone is always free to be themselves and grow in their own pace.
We find the work Good Samaritan important. Being able to observe how much of an impact the center has on the lives of the people in the community is impressive.
One important thing we learned is this: one does not need to speak the same language to communicate. We will always remember the nights where we sat with the women at the center, watching films, sharing meals, and playing cards. Even though we did not understand much of the words, we still felt like we were able to communicate well. One does not need a common language to understand the meaning of a smile.
We would like to thank everyone at Good Samaritan Center for their time, and for making our stay in Taiwan an unforgettable experience.
Best wishes,
Aase, Ailin, Grete, Maren, Odrun and Rebeca
