TAIWAN. Taiwanese travel retailer Tasa Meng has shown its commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility with two recent initiatives.
In the first it donated NT$ 1 million (US$36,000) in relief aid for Taitung Country in southeastern Taiwan after the ravages of Typhoon Nepartak last month. Taitung and its offshore islands, Green Island and Orchid Island (also known as Lanyu) suffered serious damage.
The travel retailer also supported a campaign called ‘Used Shoes Save Lives’ in July. The project, organised by charitable mission Step 30 International Ministries, helps collect, sort and pack donated shoes, sending them to children in need around the world.
Over the past two months, Tasa Meng assembled some 10,000 pairs of shoes from its own employees and staff from many airlines using Taoyuan International Airport, Kaohsiung International Airport and Matsu Airport.
Additionally, Tasa Meng also donated NT$800,000 (US$25,000) to Step 30 to help purchase a cargo container and cover shipping costs. The container used to transport shoes will be turned into a container school providing education for children in Africa.
This particular shipment will provide shoes for children in the Mount Elgon region of Kenya, bordering Uganda, who must otherwise walk barefoot for between two and four hours to attend school. Their feet are often infected with a bug called jiggers (pictured below), which burrows under the skin and toenails laying eggs and leaving painful sores. Some children have died as a result of infection.