Five baseball fans of Yilan Education and Nursing Institute, accompanied by social workers and educare givers, boarded the Dream-Catching Bus to Taipei Dome to watch the 35th anniversary of the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) regular season game on the afternoon of the 15th. 1 hour's bus ride fulfilled a dream that residents had waited for 7 years. Even though they had traveled a long way, as soon as they arrived at the stadium, the spirit of baseball in their bodies was instantly triggered, and the excitement was overflowing. Each of them focused on the game, and cheered for the players when it was crucial to do so.
Wei-Yeh is 37-year-old who suffers from cerebral palsy, which impairs his intelligence, speech and walking ability, and has been in Yilan Education and Nursing Institute for more than 18 years. Because he usually enjoys watching baseball games on TV, he went to the Taipei 2017 Summer Universiade, leaving an unforgettable experience and memories, and has been looking forward to going to the stadium again someday.
The 35th anniversary of the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) regular season game kicked off at the Taipei Dome, and the Eden Dream-Catching Bus carried baseball fans from Yilan Education and Nursing Institute to the stadium to show their support.
On the other hand, Ah-Liang, the 60-year-old person with moderately intellectual disabilities is a big fan of Mr. Cheng-Min Peng, a former player and current coach of the CTBC Brothers Baseball Club, Ah-Liang fell in love with baseball after seeing Cheng-Min Peng hit home runs. In addition to watching baseball games, Ah-Liang also collects newspapers and magazines about baseball. Like Wei-Yeh, Ah-Liang had been to the games during Taipei 2017 Summer Universiade, and he could not forget the sound of the bat touching the ball, the joy of catching a foul ball, and the thrill of the whole place roaring with the home run. After seven years, he is looking forward to watching the game and cheering for his favorite team in the stadium.
Wei-Yeh who loves baseball, has been in the Yilan Education and Nursing Institute for 18 years, and after seven years from the Taipei Summer Universiade, he is attending the baseball game in person as dream come true again this year.
Mr. Chung-Ching Tu, the Director of Eden Barrier-Free Innovation Service Center Director said, from the Yilan Education and Nursing Instituteto the Taipei Dome takes more than one hour to drive, for the general public, it may be a common experience, but for persons with multiple disabilities, due to the differences on the category of disabilities and the degree of impairment, the needs are also different, so a trip to the outing, in addition to assessing the physical strength of the service user, the comfort of the ride, the safety of the ride, but also need to take into account the pressure of the care of the caregivers who come along and the convenience. Convenience. The Eden Dream-Catching Bus has basic first-aid equipment, an all-around reclining wheelchair, and pressure-reducing materials that can distribute the sitting pressure on the buttocks and prevent slipping, making it safe and comfortable for both sitting and reclining. The wheelchair can also be directly boarded and disembarked from the bus without the need for laborious mobility, which is convenient for caregivers to use and avoids injuries from caregiving.
This year, the 35th anniversary of the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) regular season game started at the Taipei Dome, and the social workers of the Yilan Education and Nursing Institute actively pursued the opportunity to apply for the “Dream-Catching bus” service from Eden, so that the baseball-loving residents in the Yilan Education and Nursing Institute could fulfill their dream of returning to the stadium to enjoy the fun of watching the game and add more beautiful memories to their limited lives.
Ah-Liang is the 60-year-old fan of the CTBC Brothers and usually loves to watch the baseball games on TV. This year he finally fulfilled his dream of coming to the stadium to cheer for the team.
Eden Barrier-Free Innovation Service Centerhas been promoting the “Dream-Catching bus” service since 2018, providing safe and comfortable travel space for persons with reduced-mobility and persons with severely disabilitiesto revisit the beautiful places in their lives without any regrets. So far, the service has accompanied 34 persons to complete their dream trips. Currently, the service covers Taoyuan City, Taipei City, New Taipei City, Keelung City, and Yilan County. After enrollment, professional social workers will assess the travel affordability and arrange for the trip after passing the assessment, and we welcome people with needs to call us for inquiries and applications as +886-2-2230-6670 ext. 3606.
