October 9, 2025 Editor: Hsu Tang-yung , Ming Chuan Weekly 1247, SDG11 Sustainable Urban and Rural Development, SDG4 Quality Education, Department of Crime Prevention [This Publication Reports] To encourage youth to engage in community industries and serve in non-profit organizations, the Youth Development Administration of the Ministry of Education launched the “2025 Youth Summer Community Workplace Experience Program.” The national competition was held on September 13th at the GIS International Convention Center. CHU,LI-CHI, a third-year student in the Department of Criminal Justice at Ming Chuan University ,stood out with his service at the Towaben Holistic Care and Development Association in Hualien County, winning the national championship!
CHU,LI-CHI is a Taroko indigenous person. He had originally planned to return to Hualien to work during the summer vacation, but after seeing the Youth Development Administration’s recruitment information for the workplace experience program on the school’s poster wall, he actively signed up to participate. During her high school years, she participated in the Council of Indigenous Peoples’ “Indigenous Youth Summer Work-Study Program,” serving at an Indigenous Cultural and Health Station. Therefore, she specifically chose to experience working at the Towa Indigenous Health Station in Hualien County this time, continuing her familiar work and demonstrating her passion for caring for and serving Indigenous elders.
CHU,LI-CHI stated that studying away from home usually limits her opportunities to experience Indigenous culture, and she also has relatively few Indigenous classmates at school. Therefore, this work experience not only deepened her cultural identity but also made her more aware of the cultural heritage she bears as an Indigenous youth. This work experience, in addition to accumulating practical work experience and improving her professional skills, also created more competitiveness for her future career planning.
This 1.5-month workplace experience (July 1st – August 14th) saw CHU,LI-CHI serve as a project assistant. Her duties included providing daily care and administrative support to seniors, such as conducting physiological measurements, designing lesson plans and interactive games, and listening to their needs. In lesson plan design, she combined creativity with AI technology, incorporating elements familiar to seniors to develop a set of interactive courses that they would enjoy repeatedly. This provided the health and wellness center with customized, reusable digital teaching materials, and she also used AI to design a simple facial recognition system to improve the efficiency of senior photo management. During this time, she also participated in a tribal harvest festival, dancing with the seniors, and collaborated with caregivers to win an award in the “Kitchen Hygiene and Safety Improvement Proposal Competition” for senior dining centers in Hualien County, showcasing outstanding results.
The Towa Ben Health and Wellness Center primarily serves Amis seniors. Despite slight differences in language and culture, CHU,LI-CHI gradually built deep friendships with them through sincerity and patience. One of the church elders, over 80 years old, said he would often pray for her, protecting her studies and health. She felt deeply moved, considering it a great gift. Even now that her service work has ended, she still calls frequently to check on the elder’s well-being and shares her own school progress, allowing him to appreciate her efforts and dedication.
This year’s program attracted 748 young people nationwide, with 30 groups selected for the national competition. On the day of the presentation, CHU,LI-CHI wore a white traditional Taroko tribal costume, showcasing her pride and identification with her culture. Recently, Hualien suffered from floods, but fortunately, her home in Xiulin Township and the Hualien City where her service unit is located were unaffected. She and her family expressed their deep concern for Hualien through church donations and joining the “Shovel Heroes” campaign.