About Zhi-Shan

  • Origin

The name "至善 (Zhì-shàn)" originates from the first chapter of The Great Learning (大學): "The way of the great learning lies in illuminating virtue, loving people, and resting ultimately in the highest goodness (至善)."  

Zhi-Shan Foundation Taiwan is the premier partner for child and youth development, current serving regions including Taiwan, Vietnam, Yunnan, and Myanmar in Asia. Over the past two years, we have helped over 300,000 children annually with food, education, and care, ensuring they are in good company while walking the path of growing up.

In 1995, Zhi-Shan Foundation Taiwan was established from a benevolent thought - Master Shan-shan and his group witnessed a sick child dying in their mother's arms in central Vietnam, prompting them to take action to save more children struggling on the brink of death. After their return to Taiwan, Zhi-Shan was established and, with the support of the public, they initiated development work in Vietnam, including corrective medical intervention, care, and education for children.

Throughout the years,  Zhi-Shan Foundation Taiwan has been involved in promoting education, reading, early childhood care, and medical treatment in six provinces of central Vietnam. In Taiwan, the foundation is deeply engaged with indigenous groups. This includes child care and development, as well as cultivating arts, skills, and talents of children in the remote villages of Jianshi and Wufeng townships of Hsinchu. Indigenous programs also include    accompanying tribal children living in the city and empowering urban indigenous women to engage in household service work to gain economic independence.

In 2006, Zhi-Shan Foundation Taiwan extended its services to the mountainous areas of Lijiang, Yunnan, launching minority ethnic educational assistance services. In recent years, it has worked to improve rural education quality in Yunnan in line with China's poverty alleviation policies through the "Growing Up with You in Yunnan" program.

In 2016, Zhi-Shan Foundation Taiwan was invited by Plan International, (one of the top 50 NGOs worldwide) to become its equal partner cooperating internationally for a joint early childhood development and care (ECCD) program to provide higher-quality preschool care for children and parents in Myanmar. In 2019, Zhi-Shan Foundation Taiwan collaborated directly with local organization Meikswe Myanmar in Myanmar's early childhood care project, ensuring direct care for every child.

Over the past 30 years, Zhi-Shan Foundation Taiwan has brought together the strength of Taiwan's civil society to engage in cross-cultural, child-centered development work, receiving recognition both domestically and internationally. It is rated as an Outstanding organization by the Taiwan Ministry of Health and Welfare,and has been commended by the Vietnamese government multiple times. Due to its outstanding reputation in international development and with 80% of its funding coming from Taiwan's civil society, Zhi-Shan Foundation Taiwan has set a precedent for nonprofit organizations in Taiwan, free from political and religious affiliations. Funds raised and managed centrally by Zhi-Shan Foundation will be mainly used for the development of children and youth in the "By your side" plans at key service sites in Asia.

  • Mission

​Adhering to the principles of respecting diverse cultures and love without borders, we gather the power of civil society to assist in the children and youth development of disadvantaged areas, aiming to achieve the highest state of universal harmony.

  • Organizational Team

​Zhi-shan was initially composed of an interdisciplinary group of international philanthropists.  Today, the board of directors is composed of 12 members (serving from 2022 to 2025), hailing from various professional fields including medicine, academia, culture, and business management, all on a voluntary basis. We have a total of 85 full time  employees domestically and internationally, forming a team that combines compassion with professionalism.

Chairperson: Pia Giammasi  CEO: Jay Hung

 

  • Milestones
    • ​​1995: Zhi-Shan officially registered with the Ministry of the Interior.
    • 1998: "Afu," a baby from central Vietnam with a severely malformed head was brought to Taiwan for a series of complex corrective operations, prompting generous donations from Taiwanese society. The first service project was launched provide nutritional lunches for indigenous children at four elementary schools (Yufeng, Shilei, Xiuluan, Xinguang) in the mountains of Jianshi, Hsinchu.
    • 1999: Provided disaster relief in the Daanxi tribe in Taichung following the 9/21 earthquake.
    • 2000: Initiated a school attendance subsidy program in Qalang Smangus, focusing on solving transportation safety issues for students
    • 2004: 
      ​- ​​​Established the first childcare center in Vietnam, "Nanyang Kindergarten," in the Quảng Điền District; 
      ​- launched the "Replace Old Blackboards with New Ones" program in cooperation with three domestic NGOs in Vietnam, receiving enthusiastic responses from local and domestic companies, and resulting in the replacement of all blackboards in 33 junior high and primary schools (totaling 254 boards); 
      ​- established the work station in Hue, Vietnam.
  • 2005: Started a dropout prevention program at Jianshi Junior High.
  • 2006: 
    - Began assisting ethnic minority girls in schooling in Lijiang, Yunnan; 
    - established the first childcare center in the mountainous area of Jianshi County, Taiwan; 
    - launched the "By your side" program.
  • 2007: 
    - Officially renamed the organization as 財團法人至善社會福利基金會 (Zhi-shan Foundation Taiwan) 
    - Established the Hsinchu workstation. 
  • 2008: 
    - Launched the reading program in Vietnam; established the Lijiang work station in Yunnan; 
    - Joined the "88 Floods - Indigenous Sustainable Reconstruction Project" and set up a workstation in southern Taiwan.
  • 2011: Held the first "Friendship Essay" national competition which continued for five consecutive years.
  • 2013: the medical correction program in Vietnam reaches the 2000th child marker.
  • 2014: Launched the pre-school development program, "Alili", in Yunnan's childcare program.
  • 2015: Collaborated with Oxfam Hong Kong to initiate the "Happy Cleaning" urban indigenous women's economic self-reliance program
  • 2016: 
    - Established the Zhi-shan Foundation Vietnam;  
    - Signed a contract with Plan International for cooperating on the joint early childhood development and care (ECCD) project in Myanmar; 
    - received the second Aurora Group's Philanthropy Award.
  • 2017: 
    - Unveiled the Mrqwang tribe mutual aid education and protection service center; 
    - Held the first fundraising dinner since the establishment of Zhi-Shan.
  • 2018: Established the Wawa Forest in Xizhi - Zhi-Shan Child and Youth Development Center; launched the innovative service project "Mobile Kindergarten."
  • 2019: Co-hosted the "2019 Indigenous Childcare Forum" with Legislator Lee Li-Feng; received support from MSD for Mothers and launched the "Indigenous Mothers' Peace of Mind Car Project."
  • 2020: The COVID-19 pandemic impacted service projects worldwide; Zhi-Shan issued a statement titled "Anxious but We Will Remain Resolute."
  • 2021: Taiwan's NPOs collectively faced database breaches, causing disturbance to donors; Zhi-Shan initiated comprehensive cybersecurity education and training for all staff members.
  • 2022: Held the first Taiwan Indigenous Child and Youth Rights Forum.
  • 2023: Advocated for "Campus Community Friendliness" and held the first Campus Community Friendliness Award ceremony.