Office of the First Lady Receives Donation from Taiwan Government for Building Projects

Office of the First Lady Receives Donation from Taiwan Government for Building Projects
Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo, 07/07/2011

The Office of the First Lady seeks to contribute to the reduction of infant mortality and to support people with handicaps by making education more accessible thus ultimately easier for them to integrate into society and the workplace.

Mrs. Cedeño de Fernández said, with the construction of these buildings and centers, she seeks to lower the infant mortality rate in these areas …

To help further these goals, the Office of the First Lady recently received a check for $2 million US dollars from the Taiwan government, earmarked for social programs for people in situations of extreme poverty or socially vulnerable situations.

The cooperation agreement was signed by First Lady Margarita Cedeño de Fernández and Chinese Ambassador (Taiwan), Isaac Tsai. The donation will be used to build three pediatric emergency centers as well as hospital rooms in the province of Azua and municipalities of Bonao and Castillo. They will also establish a Training Center for people with handicaps.

Mrs. Cedeño de Fernández said, with the construction of these buildings and centers, she seeks to lower the infant mortality rate in these areas and support people with handicaps to make it easier for them to gain access to education that will help them integrate more fully into society and participate in the work place and economic life of the country.

The First Lady said this donation corresponds to the first dispersal of funds given annually by the government of Taiwan to the Office of the First Lady (DPD in Spanish) to support development programs that benefit more than 600,000 people on a national level, among them 130,000 vulnerable families involved in the Programa Progresando (Progressing Program).

The First Lady thanked the government of Taiwan and affirmed that the financial donation will contribute to achieving the guidelines laid out in the DPD’s Strategic Plan,

She explained that the funds will also support the process of modernizing virtual classrooms so that students can use Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as a tool to attain professional careers that will serve them in their lives and work.

The First Lady thanked the government of Taiwan and affirmed that the financial donation will contribute to achieving the guidelines laid out in the DPD’s Strategic Plan, which include training that leads to social and economic development, thus furthering education, job training, overall health and the generation of income of the beneficiary families.

Ambassador Isaac Tsai said the First Lady has shown selfless dedication in her efforts to achieve a common good for society, for which reason, he said it was an honor to participate in the continuation of these altruistic initiatives being developed by Cedeño de Fernández.

“The projects developed by this Office have mainly focused on the most vulnerable and unprotected groups within society through its support of actions taken by the Dominican government in its goal to end extreme poverty, improve education all on levels, incentivize gender equality and optimize the quality of health services,” said Isaac Tsai.

With the support of the Government of the Republic of Taiwan, the DPD has built emergency pediatric centers, Training and Progressing Production Centers and Information and Technology Centers in El Seibo, Boca Chica, Manoguayabo and Yamasá.

Present at the signing ceremony of the Cooperation Agreement included a delegation of Young Ambassadors 2011 from Taiwan who are currently in the DR as part of a cultural exchange program; representatives from the National Council on the Handicapped (CONADIS), women belonging to families in the Progressing Program, staff from the First Lady’s Office and the Embassy of China (Taiwan).