Sunshine Social Welfare Foundation () is a charity established in 1981 in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

to provide comprehensive services for burn survivors and people with facial

disfigurement Disfigurement is the state of having one's appearance deeply and persistently harmed medically, such as from a disease, birth defect, or wound. General societal attitudes towards disfigurement have varied greatly across cultures and over time ...

. Inspired by the book written by burn survivor SHEN Xiao-Ya entitled ''People Who Shun the Sun'', a group of public-minded individuals from the media, business, medical and NPO sectors, joined people with facial disfigurement to launch a fundraising campaign in 1981. Small donations raised with the public were the basis for the establishment of Sunshine Social Welfare Foundation. Sunshine has for mission to provide “comprehensive services for burn survivors and people with facial disfigurement; to assist them in their physical, psychological and social rehabilitation; to uphold their human rights and dignity.” Clients of the Foundation include

burn A burn is an injury to skin, or other tissues, caused by heat, electricity, chemicals, friction, or ionizing radiation (such as sunburn, caused by ultraviolet radiation). Most burns are due to heat from hot fluids (called scalding), soli ...

survivors,

oral cancer Oral cancer, also known as oral cavity cancer, tongue cancer or mouth cancer, is a cancer of the lining of the lips, mouth, or upper throat. In the mouth, it most commonly starts as a painless red or white patch, that thickens, gets ulcerated ...

survivors, people with

hemangioma A hemangioma or haemangioma is a usually benign vascular tumor derived from blood vessel cell types. The most common form, seen in infants, is an infantile hemangioma, known colloquially as a "strawberry mark", most commonly presenting on the sk ...

neurofibromatosis Neurofibromatosis (NF) refers to a group of three distinct genetic conditions in which tumors grow in the nervous system. The tumors are non-cancerous (benign) and often involve the skin or surrounding bone. Although symptoms are often mild, e ...

cleft lip and palate A cleft lip contains an opening in the upper lip that may extend into the nose. The opening may be on one side, both sides, or in the middle. A cleft palate occurs when the palate (the roof of the mouth) contains an opening into the nose. The ...

, and other types of disfigurement that are the result of accident or disease. The Foundation helps burn survivors and people with facial disfigurement by offering physical rehabilitation services in its Rehabilitation Center, financial aid, psychological counseling, school re-entry counseling and vocational counseling. The Foundation also operates carwash centers in the greater Taipei area, which serve as a training platform to facilitate return to work of burn survivors and oral cancer survivors. The Foundation also works towards changing society's perception of people with facial disfigurement and overcoming stigma. Through social education in schools and communities, and through advocacy, Sunshine seeks greater respect and equal rights for people with facial disfigurement. Sunshine won second place in the 2005 Asia Pacific NGO Awards organized by Resource Alliance and Citigroup. The Foundation also won the 2011 Presidential Culture Award (總統文化獎) in the philanthropy category.CHENG, Sabine and Hermia LIN
“Filmmakers among winners of 2011 Presidential Culture Awards”
''Central News Agency – Focus Taiwan''. 2011-08-04

References

External links

Sunshine Rehabilitation Center website (Chinese only)

Sunshine Carwash Center website (Chinese only)
1981 establishments in Taiwan Non-profit organizations based in Taiwan Organizations based in Taipei Organizations established in 1981 {{philanthropy-org-stub