We were delighted to have received a huge donation of PPE items from a city in Taiwan as a show of support in response to Oxford City Council passing a motion to twin with a Taiwanese city.
Our charity was sent sent 1,000 reusable face masks, 240 pairs of protective goggles and 120 face shields from the Tainan City Government.
The donation has specifically been made to an Oxford-based charity in response to the council passing a motion at the end of July to become sister cities with a yet-to-be-determined city in Taiwan.
As one of six municipalities of Taiwan, Tainan City decided to respond to Oxford City Council’s support of the East Asian country. Huang Wei-che, Mayor of Tainan City, said:
“The COVID-19 infection is very well under control in Taiwan and since we have relatively sufficient sources of PPE, we decided to share some of them to those in need in Oxford. We admire organisations such as Emmaus Oxford and its devotion to helping vulnerable people get through hard times.
“The hand-made masks are from the Sunny Atelier platform, which was founded by the Department of Labour Affairs of Tainan City Government. Through this platform, disabled or economically disadvantaged women in Tainan can sell hand-made products to achieve economic self-reliance. The producers are so excited to have this opportunity to “export” their works overseas and they are also inspired to have friends in Oxford wearing these beautiful masks.”
For people who have been homeless, our community offers a home, daily support, funded training and the opportunity to learn skills by working in our Barns Road store in Cowley. We have gratefully welcomed the donation to help keep our residents safe.
Jamie Dodson, Retail Manager at Emmaus Oxford, said:
“We were absolutely delighted to receive this fantastic donation and we can’t thank the very talented women from Tainan enough for making the masks and the Tainan City Government for organising the donation.
“The items are being gratefully used by the people we support and our staff team. Thanks to receiving such a large donation, we are also selling some of the facemasks on our Depop page. All money raised from the sales will be donated to another local charity, soon to be chosen by the formerly homeless individuals we support, so we can spread the generous support from Tainan even further in Oxford.”
Masks are being sold for £4 each or three for £10. To purchase a mask, visit the charity’s Depop page at www.depop.com/emmausoxford1/
For more information on Oxford County Council’s Twin City process, visit https://www.oxford.gov.uk/info/20139/oxford_international_links/1401/our_twin_city_process