Well, I knew that this would get some response; I know there are many people and organizations out there with a passion about this kind of thing.
I propose meeting up this weekend at a time that’s convenient for most. I’ll ask Rainbow if we can take over part of Grandma Nitti’s during the down-time.
Thanks very much to Forumosa and particularly Maoman; we can do so much more with your support, so it’s much appreciated.
Brian and Tigerman, I agree that the last thing we want is to be seen as meddling foreigners. I hope (and am sure) that at least half of our numbers would be locals. There are many, many Taiwanese that would love to throw some weight behind this.
Eric, I knew you’d be in! Watch this thread for details of our first meeting. For those of you that don’t know Eric, this is something he and I have been meaning to set up for a long time and is based mainly on his ideas.
Street Dog, thanks for the support and great ideas. I hope you’ll come to the first meeting and help us implement them.
TS, that’s great to hear. See you at the meeting. There will be many different ways of helping; we need to establish what resources and skills we have available to us at the meeting, so let us know what you can bring to the table.
914, great to meet someone else that’s already doing something. I’m sure you can see that, with a supportive, organized network around you, you’ll be able to achieve so much more. I am certain we can (and need to) make this a national network that connects to the other organizations that are doing something. See you at the weekend.
Pixie, great ideas. Start to think what we’d need to do first and we can discuss it at the weekend. Thanks for your support!
Tigerman, we need people like you to keep our feet firmly on the ground. I’m not sure if setting up a shelter should be our first step, but it is certainly a goal that we should keep in sight for the long term. I hope that, by tackling the problem at its root, the need for adequate shelters in Taiwan would hopefully become less of a neccessity. But all this can be discussed at the meeting. I know we can count on your legal expertise to help smooth the way for this thing to happen. Thank you.
Europa, OK, you’re in! Thank you. I met Dr Jane via the cancelled beach clean-up event, which, because of the typhoon, ended up as a small group attending a talk by Jane at her hotel. Like you, I have considered Jane Goodall an idol for as long as I can remember. It was an honour to meet her; she is a very inspirational woman. Hence, this thread!
Magnolia, thanks for the support. A sponsored walk is a great idea, as it would give us exposure, raise money and awareness, and we could all bring our dogs along. It’s particularly selfless of you, as I know you’ll be walking in heels, which can be murder for a girl, I know!
Wolf, thanks very much for posting those links. What I hope to achieve is for all these organizations to be communicating with each other whilst also getting exposure they may not otherwise have got. Of course, one large network will be able to achieve so much more than separate groups. As for the homeless people issue, I will fully support you if start something to help these poor people. There are so many ways we can make the world a better place. I choose to help dogs and other animals because that’s where my passion lies. But, as I said, I’ll support any good cause, so let me know if you get something started.
So, let’s meet up at the weekend. When can you guys make it? Or not make it?
Cheers!
Sean
