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Taiwanese Volunteers Visit
Tue, July 22, 2014
Today, Taiwan's new Ambassador to Belize, Benjamin Ho held his first press conference. He introduced 12 visiting student volunteers from a prestigious technical university called the National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan. They will be touring rural Cayo and visiting various schools in the area to donate computers and school supplies. Our intern Robin Schaffer found out more.

Robin Schaffer reporting
12 students from the National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan are in Belize. Today at a press briefing, Ambassador Benjamin Ho, told us about the university and why the students are here.

Benjamin Ho, Ambassador of Taiwan
"Tsing Hua University, a prestigious university not only in Taiwan. The university is just like MIT in the States. The university is very strong in technology and science, but they are also the liberal arts education too. They want to go to remote areas to help those under privilege people to network with the other part of the world particularly the internet. This is their purpose of coming over here. They come here to bring their love, not only their love, but also bring quite a lot of gifts."

While the students expressed their love for the country, it is quite a cultural shift from the fast paced city of Hsinchu in Taiwan (Use video of Taipei) to the quiet village of San Antonio in Cayo.

Aaron, Volunteer
"I think Taipei give me a lot of exposure and I think everyone is anxious in a small surrounding and it feels very comfortable. I really feel that the people are very kind and everything is good here."

Chun-Heng Chen, Group Leader
"We will go into the town and go into the houses and talking to the locals and get together with them in their daily lives and see what they need. I think it is very important for us because this is the first year that I came here."

Last year volunteers donated over 2 sets of solar power panels and batteries to El Progresso School in Santa Elena Town. This year's donations include 26 sets of desktop computers, 11 notebooks along with school supplies. The volunteers will return to Taiwan in the middle of August.

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