An unofficial survey carried out by the Social Affairs Bureau of Taipei City Government to assess local participation in neighborhood affairs has found that the people most enthusiastically involved in social welfare at the grassroots level are neighborhood chiefs, housewives and senior ward chiefs, in that order. The close involvement in public welfare by neighborhood chiefs is largely due to their network of contacts. The next most enthusiastic group are women who volunteer for social service out of the goodness of their hearts.

Statistics on Taiwan's manpower resources published by the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting & Statistics in February 1990 show that 60.57% of Taiwan's married women do not have a job. That accounts for about 3.024 million people, a not inconsiderable number in a country the size of Taiwan. In a society which is crying out for volunteer workers, this extensive unpaid manpower resource has become a gold mine which social service groups are scrambling to exploit.

For housewives who have plenty of time on their hands during the day, the many new social service groups springing up in our changing society represent a challenge which can provide satisfaction for women of different backgrounds and a diversity of interests.

The "Beggar Mothers" are a charitable group spontaneously organized among housewives. "Beggar Mothers" is only a nickname they give themselves; their group's formal title is the "Care and Welfare Sharing Center."

Every Thursday, having seen the rest of their family large and small off to work or to school, these housewives from the Greater Taipei area doff their aprons and in a flash transform themselves into "Beggar Mothers." Their task is to patch up and repair unwanted old clothes and sort them into bundles; any clothing that is too far gone is cut up to make into cushions or quilts. These various articles of clothing are then supplied to fire and flood victims, to families of the poor, or to psychiatric hospitals with a high turnover of clothing.

Normally some 30 "Beggar Mothers" participate in the group on a regular basis, although in an emergency, such as when a sudden disaster occurs, over 100 volunteers can be mobilized to help. These women work with impressive speed and discipline, you might almost say with military precision. At the time of the great flood in Taiwan on August 14, 1988, they performed the miraculous feat of despatching a ten-ton truckload of clothing to Yunlin county, epicentre of the disaster, in order to lend timely aid and succor to the victims.

These volunteers, who need qualities of affinity and perseverance rather than any specialized abilities in particular, might be described as "humdrum" volunteers. Today they are to be found everywhere in schools, hospitals and women's social groups.

The YWCA's "Charitable Mothers Team," for instance, consists of a number of talented women who assist housewives in various residential districts to learn a range of artistic skills, share the benefit of their reading and take part in group discussions. Teams of "Child Escort Mothers" based in Taipei's primary schools are staffed on a rotating basis by parents who ensure that the children make their way safely to and from school. The highest ratio of women volunteers is to be found at the city's larger hospitals, such as the Mackay Memorial Hospital, Taipei Municipal Jen Ai Hospital, the Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and National Taiwan University Hospital. Here they give people directions, look after patients and assist in applying dressings.

Here once again these women volunteers play a traditional motherly role, quietly taking care of all those little jobs which are unlikely to attract younger students or unmarried women on account of their unchallenging, simple and even rather tedious nature. In fact, 80% of hospital volunteers are the conventional "obasan types" of around 45 years of age.

For the type of woman who is keen on studying, has a high level of education and may have held a demanding job prior to marriage, the unchallenging and stultifying nature of humdrum voluntary work holds little appeal. She might prefer to go in for a more intellectual type of voluntary work.

The range of voluntary work available includes the well-known "Teacher Chang" and "Lifeline" services and the "Legal Letterbox," for which legal knowledge is required; while those with a command of foreign languages might find a niche with the Pacific Cultural Foundation, who are responsible for entertaining goodwill ambassadors from abroad.

Taking part in intellectual voluntary work by providing services that require specialist knowledge gives some women more the kind of incentive they are looking for. At the same time it also presents them with the opportunity to learn new things in the course of specialized training.

For instance. "Lifeline" volunteers are required to attend group training courses covering practically the whole gamut of problems encountered during the course of a person's life, from personality development, relationships between the sexes, marriage counselling, handling extra-marital affairs, bisexuality, the generation gap and the physical and emotional development of adolescents, to general social change and career planning.

During the seven-month training course, which falls into three stages, "Lifeline" demands that students not miss more than one-fifth of the classes or they will be disqualified. This comprehensive regime of instructional courses and the high attendance rate demanded not only ensure that an effective service will be provided, they also attract and engage the attention of housewife volunteers who enjoy an intellectual challenge.

There are other conscientious mothers who do not want to see the lives of the next generation blighted by litter, who object to seeing sexually offensive posters plastered everywhere, and who have no intention of becoming helpless victims of consumerism. These have boldly banded together in order to go on the offensive in attacking the faults they see rampant in society. They have formed housewives' alliances such as the "Environmental Mothers" and the Taipei Women's Rescue Foundation, which are opposed to environmental pollution and sexual pollution respectively, or else have joined the Consumers Foundation, which monitors the quality and retail price of consumer goods.

Such organizations provide a channel for women's idealism and allow housewives to develop their unique strengths to the full. Herein lies another important aspect of the women's volunteer movement.

[Picture Caption]

Their work is unpaid, so a handshake and a thank-you are the best reward for housewife volunteers.

With a housewife volunteer for company, a young patient soon forgets his ills and the drip-feed on his arm.

Now that "Child Escort Mothers" are there to maintain order, schoolchildren can safely cross the road.

"It's raining, quickly get under my banner, don't get wet!" Housewife volunteers never forget to do a kindness, however small.

In addition to their quiet contribution, housewife volunteers also participate in social campaigns against pollution and sexual exploitation. (photo from Sinorama files)

Besides deriving satisfaction from the contribution they are making, the "Beggar Mothers" also gain a new appreciation of their own good fortune and make friends with like-minded people.

"Environmental Mothers" urge families and society to join forces to protect the earth's environment. (photo by Vincent Chang)

While taking children round a power plant, women volunteers also have the chance to learn new things.

With a housewife volunteer for company, a young patient soon forgets his ills and the drip-feed on his arm.

Now that "Child Escort Mothers" are there to maintain order, schoolchildren can safely cross the road.

"It's raining, quickly get under my banner, don't get wet!" Housewife volunteers never forget to do a kindness, however small.

In addition to their quiet contribution, housewife volunteers also participate in social campaigns against pollution and sexual exploitation. （photo from Sinorama files）

Besides deriving satisfaction from the contribution they are making, the "Beggar Mothers" also gain a new appreciation of their own good fortune and make friends with like-minded people.

"Environmental Mothers" urge families and society to join forces to protect the earth's environment. （photo by Vincent Chang）

While taking children round a power plant, women volunteers also have the chance to learn new things.