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Signing Ceremony with Maria Foundation, Taiwan台湾マリア財団との調印式

The Maria Foundation Shaka Kairo Workshop and the Japanese logistics company LOGIWAYS and its welfare company for the disabled, QUOLEAD, have started a new international cooperation.

― Provide stable employment opportunities and create a place where people with intellectual disabilities can demonstrate their talents ―

The Maria Foundation's Shaka Kairo Workshop has launched a new international cooperation with the Japanese logistics company LOGIWAYS and its affiliate, QUOLEAD, a welfare business for the disabled. This cooperation will not only provide the plant with a stable workforce, but also give people with intellectual disabilities the opportunity to demonstrate their talents and their value to society.

The signing ceremony of the “Memorandum of Understanding for Cooperation in Product Subcontracting for Persons with Disabilities in Taiwan and Japan” was held on September 24, 2024, at the Aixinjiawen in Taichung City, where an agreement was signed to provide stable employment opportunities for 25 persons with intellectual disabilities each year. This cooperation is aimed at sustainable management based on ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance),” said Isao Takahashi, President of LOGIWAYS. We felt that Japan's welfare services for people with disabilities faced many challenges, and we were aware of the fact that opportunities for people with disabilities to play an active role in society remained limited and that it was not easy for them to obtain stable jobs or independent income. This is due to the fact that they have few opportunities to feel connected to society at home and abroad due to their low income and limited range of activities.

To remedy this problem, we established QUOLEAD, a welfare company for the disabled in Japan, which not only provides job opportunities for 300 disabled persons, but also proposes the first international cooperation with the Maria Foundation. We are concerned about the current situation where disabled people have limited opportunities to participate in society. Through this, we aim to enable people with disabilities in Japan and Taiwan to perform the same distribution and processing tasks, achieve cross-border support service collaboration, and most importantly, help people with disabilities feel that they have friends all over the world and deepen these connections through their work.”

Maria Foundation Executive Director Yi-Kun Chen stated.
Since its establishment 36 years ago, the Foundation has been committed to providing care services to the 'smallest, weakest, and most difficult' mentally disabled. We are very impressed that President Isao Takahashi has focused on the needs of people with disabilities from the perspective of sustainable corporate management, expanding social investment, and building social services based on partnerships. Through this cooperation model, companies and welfare organizations can work together to realize the spirit of independence and integration of persons with disabilities into the community, based on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Disability Rights and Interests Guarantee Act. We sincerely appreciate that this cooperation will contribute to the improvement of employment opportunities, job skills, and independent living conditions for people with disabilities and enhance their quality of life. We especially appreciate your visit from Japan to teach us how to work at the Shaka Kairo Work Station.”

This cooperation is the first international project between private companies and welfare organizations between Taiwan and Japan, and brings hope to many disabled people. For example, Shun Wing, 37, an autistic man who works at the Shaka Workshop, has been confined to his home for 10 years, but is now appreciated for his light work and cleaning duties. His dream is to “travel the world” and he especially loves Japanese culture. With this cooperation, the paper bags he made will reach Japan, bringing him closer to that dream.

Mr. Junxun Awa, Director of the Department for Persons with Disabilities, Social Affairs Bureau, Taichung City Government, commented: “We are very pleased to be able to offer this program.
This model of international cooperation deserves wide dissemination.There are 1.21 million people with disabilities in Taiwan. These people may be our parents, children, siblings, or friends. They, too, need more support as members of society. We are pleased that the cooperation between Maria Foundation, LOGIWAYS, and QUOLEAD will bring new employment opportunities to people with disabilities in Taichung City. I hope the Taichung City Government will continue to support us in policy and promote international cooperation.”
After the signing ceremony on the 24th, Mr. Isao Takahashi, President of LOGIWAYS, together with employees, visited the Taichung City Aixin Family Garden and the Maria Foundation's social enterprise “Mali Young 快樂快樂襪子店”. On the 25th, he again visited Shalu Kai Lu Workshop to provide guidance on distribution and processing operations.

President Takahashi stated the following.
Our future is a society where people with disabilities can live freely and actively in the wider world. This cooperation is just the first step. In the future, we would like to create opportunities for people with disabilities from both sides to visit and interact with each other in person. We would also like to explore together the possibilities of many more distribution processing projects and international exchanges, helping more people with disabilities to participate in the international community.”