TAS Partners with Taiwan Expatriate Schools in Support of Refugees

by TAS Communications

TAS has recently begun a community-wide initiative to provide help to refugee families who have recently left Ukraine.

As of Friday, March 5, the International Organization of Migration (IOM), a UN migration agency, citing figures from government ministries in countries where they have arrived, said Saturday that 787,300 people went to Poland. Some 228,700 fled to Moldova, 144,700 to Hungary, 132,600 to Romania and 100,500 to Slovakia.   The IOM has said that people fleeing Ukraine represent nationals of 138 countries who have crossed into neighboring nations.

According to Head of School Dr. Grace Cheng Dodge, "We have been in contact with Pechersk School International Kyiv (PSI), which has informed schools around the world of the crisis and how it has impacted their school.  We have also been in contact with colleagues at the American School in Warsaw (ASW) and the International School in Krakow (ISK), both of whom are heavily involved in helping with the refugee crisis as hundreds of thousands of refugees have come to their region seeking help. " 

The support for all refugees can start with simple actions such as sharing truthful news and knowing that what matters the most is food, housing, and psychological support. 

In partnership with all our friends across Taiwan's expatriate schools, and with our peers at the American School of Warsaw and the International School of Krakow, any donations from our community are welcome and will be sent directly to the American School of Warsaw and the International School of Krakow to provide much-needed funds for meeting refugees in their area with basic food, shelter, and medicines. 

Both schools in Poland are connected to refugee centers in their area and their students are working closely with locally-based organizations to support the refugees.  Both schools will provide documentation for how the funds made a difference in their communities.

Additionally, at our upcoming Vocal Festival, which is currently scheduled for March 18 (either live or live-streamed), the TAS choirs will sing a Ukrainian song and end with a finale of "Sing Gently," a song about standing with peace and unity in the world. Please be sure to check the TAS digital calendar for up-to-date time and location information for this event along with our COVID-19 Community Updates page for campus access procedures in place at that time. 

Parents or interest donors can contact billing@tas.edu.tw to provide detailed bank account numbers.