Minister Gu said that this year marks HAC’s first attempt to combine the Journey of Dreams project with the spirit of the Youth Ambassador program for the first time. Through the Hakka Youth International Volunteer Team program, volunteers get to experience diverse cultures, develop new ideas, and evolve through actual interactions with local people in Thailand. Such global exchanges place Taiwan on the world stage while young people bring back thoughts, emotions, and motivation for change from different countries.
Twenty volunteers shared their outcomes from the 11-day volunteering experience trip to Thailand. Many talked about their practice alongside economically self-reliant Thai communities, “Sustainable development does not require the pursuit of cutting-edge technology. Starting from local areas, valuing coexistence with nature, Taiwan can also learn the wisdom of balancing business and life.” Economic self-reliance implies more than financial independence—it points to a lifestyle and spiritual freedom.
This volunteering drive centered on “Building equal and sustainable communities”. Volunteers visited the Hakka Association of Thailand, local governments, non-governmental organizations, and volunteering organizations for in-depth exchanges. Services included participating in community actions alongside students from Thailand’s Thammasat University; assistance in sorting and donating second-hand supplies at the Mirror Foundation; collaboration with a Thai volunteer center to distribute supplies to vulnerable families; preparing Hakka signature meals at the Santi Asoke sustainable community for monks and community elders; and helping local farmers in Mab Euang to grow medicinal and aromatherapy plants, produce organic liquid fertilizer, and provide educational services in rural elementary schools.
Volunteer services in Thailand spanned topics such as the children’s education system, wealth inequality and welfare policies, development models of economically self-reliant communities, and experiences of balancing environmental protection and economic development. Through their personal actions, these young people not only put into practice the spirit of serving others, but also showcased Taiwanese Hakka culture to the world, tackled global public issues, and demonstrated the confidence and dynamism of Hakka youth.