Help the disabled in Vietnam and Inner Mongolia

Dear friends,

Thank you so much for supporting Eden Social Welfare Foundation on GlobalGiving! After finishing our wheelchair donation project in Vietnam, we continued the next project to help persons with visual impairments in Inner Mongolia. In June, we chose Horqin District in Tongliao City where there are more than 100,000 persons with visual impairments as our target area in Inner Mongolia for our GlobalGiving project. We originally planned to donate white canes in order to increase their independence and mobility. But after the assessment and discussion with local people, we decided to donate 100 Birdy assistive devices to help the visually impaired make their lives more convenient.

What is Birdy assistive device? Why we made this adjustment? Firstly, the rate of using white canes in China is pretty low. White canes are generally used in big city where accessible facilities or public transportation are available. People with visual impairments in rural areas are usually led by people or take cars when they move from one place to another. So we started thinking about the alternative— Birdy. Birdy is a small and lightweight assistive device which has multiple functions such as radio, alarm clock, digital voice recorders, speaking clock, and countdown timer and which is designed by the Taiwanese visually impaired technicians who understands the needs of individuals with visual impairments. The price of one Birdy assistive device is equivalent to one white cane. After the assessment and direct discussion with local visually impaired, we found that Birdy can make their lives more convenient and provide great assistance during work.

According to our research, there is more than 95% of the visually impaired work as massagists in Horqin District of Tongliao City. Birdy can be very helpful in their workplace. Many donation receivers told us that they are so happy to have Birdy, because this is going to help them a lot during work. “Birdy is an amazing device. From now on, I will be able to know the time when I provide massage services to customers. The countdown timer function will remind me how long I still have during One-Hour Massage session. Birdy can also provide me event/date reminder, so I will not be worried about forgetting important appointments anymore!" said Mr. Wu, who is a visually impaired for 35 years and currently working as a massagist in Tongliao City. You can’t imagine how this small device can bring convenience and joy in their lives. Donating assistive devices is not only about the number of people who receive the donation, it’s also about the impact that the assistive devices can bring and make receivers’ lives better!

Since last year, our assistive devices donation project has directly help 187 persons with disabilities, as well as their families. We really cannot do this without your donation, your suggestions, and your supports in different ways! We are planning to go to different districts/ cities in Inner Mongolia again next year in order to reach more people who are waiting for this small assistive device to change their lives. Do you want to join us? It’s never too late to join us! We will stay (hidden but active) on GlobalGiving platform if we can receive at least one donation each month. If we can raise USD$5,000 in total by the end of this year, we can be visible on this platform and you can keep supporting our upcoming Love Without Borders Projects. With you, everything is possible!