Podcast Interview with founder of the Harmony Home Association who helped thousands of people including migrant workers

Harmony Home Association, Taiwan (社團法人台灣關愛之家協會) was founded in 2003 and has been assisting in many projects such as AIDS (HIV) promotion, relief assistance for migrant workers and expatriates, and care for children who are not Taiwanese citizens, etc.

The founder of Harmony Home Association, Taiwan – Yang Jie Yu (楊婕妤) took care of the first AIDS patient who has no one to depend on when she was 30 years old back then. 35 years have passed, and care & support has been delivered to more than a thousand AIDS (HIV) patients, infected babies, and foreigners who suffered in Taiwan. Among them, some people have returned to their home countries and others are being taken care of by families or local social welfare units.

In this episode of "New Immigrants in Taiwan" Podcast unit, 4wayvoice &【Taiwan Immigrants' Global News Network】invited Yang Jie Yu to share about the establishment of the association, target audience and how the helping hands reach those in need from China, Laos, and Cambodia.

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Yang Jie Yu shares the initial intention to establish the association. (Photo / Provided by the Harmony Home Association)

As Yang mentioned her initial intention of establishing the association, she said that she met her friend Tian Qi Yuan (田啟元), a well-known theater worker, in 1968. He is an HIV patient, and he wishes to care for other HIV-infected people. At that time, the general public had negative stereotypes about the HIV virus, and this motivated her to set up a Harmony Home Association that provides a safe and warm halfway house & a temporary haven for HIV-infected people.

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Relief assistance for migrant workers and expatriates was provided. (Photo / Provided by the Harmony Home Association)

Regarding the relief assistance for migrant workers and expatriates, Yang said that in 1997, she was entrusted by a Catholic priest to help stateless refugees stranded in Taiwan. Those people include workers who have insufficient money to return to their home countries. During that time, she opened a flower shop to offer an opportunity to stranded foreigners to learn flower arrangements, cultivate a skill to make a living.

In times of the pandemic in these 2 years, many foreigners are unable to return home and suffer from financial problems. Therefore, the association provided them with life care until they can return home. Besides, psychological counseling service was also provided for them to de-stress.

“Care for children who are not Taiwanese citizens” has helped over 600 children. (Photo / Provided by the Harmony Home Association)

In addition, the plan of “care for children who are not Taiwanese citizens” has helped more than 600 children. Two of the cases are “Ying Tao & Yang Tao” who were diagnosed with Hemangioma. Their mother is an Indonesian migrant worker and gave birth to them in Taiwan. The biological father reached the 14-year-work-limit and left Taiwan. The association helped them seek medical treatment, and temporarily settled the mother and daughter in the care home. After the children recovered, they returned to live in Indonesia.

In these 30 years, Yang Jie Yu has taken care of AIDS patients, foreign migrant workers, refugees, and stateless babies who have been ostracized by society and have nowhere to go. She wishes to pass down the love & care in the following decades.