Ten Life Heroes in New Taipei City Tell their Heartful Stories
New Taipei City Government chose ten outstanding students who overcome their illnesses, physical disabilities, or financial difficulties to have their stories written in the 7th episode of the book series, Flying with Dreams, for this year (2011). The ten “life heroes” attended the book launch and were presented awards by Mayor Eric Chu on Dec. 14th.
“There are neither forever adversary circumstances nor forever favorable circumstances in life,” Mayor Chu said. “The attitude toward your life matters the most”, he added. Mayor Chu praised that the stories of the ten life heroes can teach people the positive concept of life and he hopes the book can inspire children in Taiwan.
The event kicks off with Yuwen Wang, a third grader in Banqiao Elementary School, performing Taekwondo at the book launch. Although living in a poor family, Yuwen never loses her passion for Taekwondo. She dreams to be a Taekwondo national player so that she can fight for the honor of Taiwan; she also aspires to be a pastor so she can help more people getting through their difficulties. Still young in her age, the girl has shown very mature personalities. “I know I am not good at school work, but by learning Taekwondo I can earn a lot of scholarships to improve my family life,” said Yuwen.
Among the ten nominees, Yanchi Chen is a junior high school student with Turette syndrome and light autism, but he is passionate about global geography and can memorize the whole world map. When Mayor Chu quizzed him about the neighboring countries of Burkina Faso during the award ceremony, he instantly answered the question correctly and made people present at the event all admire his rich knowledge of global geography. He said he aspires to be a geologist and dreams of traveling around the world, visiting the countries he finds in the world map.
The Department of Education will distribute 35 copies of “Flying with Dreams 7” to every elementary school library and 10 copies to every junior high school library. Individuals interested in purchasing the book can contact Ms. Wu of the Department of Education at (02) 29603456. The profit from selling the books will all be donated to the charity foundation.