The Social Welfare Department of New Taipei City Government used the Public Welfare Lottery Proceeds Allocation Fund to subsidize the “San-Hsia Guoguang Disability Day Care Center”, operated by Eden Foundation, which held a heartwarming Dragon Boat Festival zongzi-making inclusion event on the 8th, Jun. the eve of the festival. The event specially invited seniors from nearby community care and support sites to visit the center, where they paired up with the day care service users to work together on making zongzi. Through learning about the ingredients and the hands-on experience, the activity not only brought everyone closer together but also demonstrated, amid laughter, the social values of intergenerational integration, mutual support, and shared common good.
 

The center offers a rich and diverse range of empowerment activities tailored to the abilities and circumstances of its service users, including training in skills such as art creation, handmade soap making, drama courses, baking, pottery, and gardening. At the same time, it provides health support through health education courses and physical fitness activities.
Cheng-cheng (pseudonym) is one of our service users, the 24-year-old with severe intellectual and physical disabilities. After graduating from high school, he was referred by his school to the San-Hsia Guoguang Disability Day Care Center, where he began a six-year journey of transformation. When Cheng-cheng first arrived at the center, he could only communicate using his fingers or utter single syllables. Thanks to the daily patient verbal guidance from the educare givers, he has made significant progress and can now sometimes speak in complete sentences. At the center, he has become a “thoughtful caring guardian” for his big brother, always taking the initiative to check the seatbelts, wheelchairs, and masks of his own older brother who also use services there—a deep bond of brotherhood that is truly touching.
 

On the day of the event, the seniors at the center transformed into “zongzi-wrapping masters,” providing hands-on, careful instruction to the service users with disabilities on how to fold two zongzi leaves into a perfect funnel-shaped cone. Under the senior’s guidance, Cheng-cheng carefully layered the sticky rice and fillings. The senior then gently patted and shaped the rice while pulling the string to help tie the knot. The youth and senior worked together seamlessly, demonstrating perfect harmony. Looking at the zongzi he had wrapped himself, Cheng-cheng beamed a bright smile at the seniors, and they posed for a group photo to commemorate the moment.
In line with the core principles of “independent living” and “an inclusive society” outlined in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the San-Hsia Guoguang Disability Day Care Center actively connects with local resources to promote a community-based network of inclusion and mutual support. The registered social worker Ms. Li-Mien Wu pointed out that many persons with disabilities often become disconnected from the community after leaving school due to a lack of social opportunities. Therefore, in addition to providing daily care and health support, the day care service places great emphasis on building “community participation” skills. Activities ranging from shopping together and participating in festive events to learning how to interact with residents are all important steps in assisting them integrate into society.
 

Since the day care center is located close to the community care site, making travel between the two convenient, it is hoped that through this Dragon Boat Festival exchange, the community’s seniors will share their life wisdom through interaction and enhance their sense of self-worth through the act of giving. Eden firmly believes that true inclusion is not merely about making persons with disabilities “visible,” but about giving them the opportunity to naturally participate in daily life and build interpersonal relationships. When community residents accept these service users with disabilities with an attitude of equality and understanding, it not only bridges the gap between them and enhances these service users’ ability to adapt to the community, but also assists them step out of their isolated circles, build self-confidence, and work together to create a warm, inclusive community where everyone thrives.