由於難得有機會如願經常造訪台東,因此每一次和新馬蘭的孩子們相處時我們都希望能盡量把握機會與他們一同學習;不僅學習知識技能,也學習擁有一顆幫助他人的心。

在這次由佳欣以及贊助者們一同贊助的工作坊中,我們將舊的牛仔衣物、布料及紗線升級再造。在每一堂嚮光的課程中,我們都希望能將不同的公共議題與社會意識傳達給孩子並盡量使用現成或回收材料進行工作坊的創作。這次我們便著眼於環境意識及動物福利的主題,帶領孩子們一同將廢棄的衣物改造再生成狗狗玩具!

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課程一開始,Rhea老師先為孩子們簡單介紹了台灣流浪狗的現況,接著大家再一同動手將這些繽紛的材料再造升級。在Rhea老師及James老師的帶領下,孩子們為Mary’s Doggies收容所中的狗狗們製作出一批獨一無二的美麗玩具。


在享用完精心烹煮的七彩甜薯咖哩及有機米飯後,每個孩子輪流分享了自己的夢想及其代表的顏色。接著每個孩子都拿到一個從學校回收來的大紙碗,開始動手將邊緣的環剪下來製作補夢網,剪剩的碗則拿來收集製作時的線頭及碎屑。

纏繞毛線的作業一開始對大家來說似乎有些挑戰,但在大朋友們耐心的協助下,漸漸地連最小的小小孩都能驕傲地完成自己的補夢網。就如同當初佳欣夢想能將快樂與溫暖分享給台灣的小朋友一樣,嚮光也希望能一直陪伴這群大小朋友,帶給他們實現夢想的力量。儘管我們都來自不同背景,夢想也不盡相同,但每個人都必須學習包容並接納彼此的人生道路。

下午的課程最後在歡樂的純素薑餅人彩繪活動及全天課程的回顧分享中畫下句點。我們也希望持續將觸角伸到全台灣各地,並且與各社群,尤其是遙遠的台東,都能建立長期的關係。如果你/妳剛好在南台灣,也歡迎加入我們未來的活動! 若希望贊助我們的教育工作坊活動,也請隨時與我們聯絡,讓我們能持續陪伴孩子成長茁壯!

老師 TeacherJames Teng / Rhea Chou
攝影師 Photographer:蘇嘉琦 Jia Chi Su, Daisy Lin
廚師 Chef:Rhea Chou
大朋友 Big Friends:劉珈妤, Ichi Lin
贊助者 Sponsors: 佳欣及贊助者Jia-Xin and Supporters, Rachel Huang 黃子娟, Hiro Liao, 廖國宏 , 直接跟農夫買, 蕭賀韶, 潘怡安, 潘俊光, 鍾貴真, 國際股份有限公司, Carol Wu, Tina Chen, Soda Su, Sabrina Sutherland, Jennifer Yi, Lily Lin, 范家瑋, Jenna Cody Lynn, Janet Lin, 葛馬可 Marco Julian Grishaber, Debbie Liu, Ben Yang, Ann Lin, Fong Lynn
特別感謝 Special Thanks: 新馬蘭Fukid部落,郭祐慈, 友善態度自然農園, Mary’s Doggies
更多照片 More Pictures: https://goo.gl/ldO6f2
您也可以贊助孩子,贊助我們!SUPPORT US! https://brightside.tw/donate/

We don’t get the chance to head down to Taitung as often as we’d like to so hope that each time we are there for the kids of ShinMaLan we are able to learn not only enrich our knowledge but also how to benefit others.

The workshop sponsored by JX and sponsors focused on upcycling denim jeans, fabric, and yarns. Every Bright Side class we focus on education sharing knowledge on a social awareness issue and upcycling materials or using what we already have on hand whenever possible. This time we brought in environmental consciousness and animal welfare by giving discarded clothing another life and also learned how to make doggy chew toys out of them!

Teacher Rhea gave a short background on the current situation of stray dogs in Taiwan and we proceeded to upcycle the colorful materials. Thanks to the knotting skills of Teacher James and Rhea these chew toys made by kids would be donated to bring joy to the strays at Mary’s Doggies.


After a hearty diverse and rainbow sweet potato curry plant-based lunch paired with donated organic rice, each child was asked about their dream and the colors they felt represented it. Kids got used paper bowls we collected from an elementary school (yes the ones people use for takeouts) and we cut off the rim to use as the frame for dreamcatchers and used the remainder of the bowl to put scrap in.

The task of looping the yarn around got off to a rocky start but after a few minute, even the youngest children thanks to patience and hands on assistance from Big Friends, were able to proudly complete their own dreamcatchers. Much like Jia-Xin had a dream to spread generosity and year end warmth to kids around Taiwan, Bright Side wants to be here for all youth and adults to empowering them to realize their dream. We all come different background and have different dreams but we must learn to tolerate and accept each others paths in lives.

The afternoon ended with a messy but fun vegan gingerbread decorating session and a recap of the lessons learned we learned from the entire day. We are expanding to other parts of Taiwan and aim for long term involvement in communities, especially in our outreach to Taitung. If you are located in Southern Taiwan, we hope you can join us next time! If you want to sponsor our educational workshops, please contact us so we can keep looking towards the Bright Side with kids and grow alongside them!