China Development Foundation’s (hereinafter the Foundation) announced that “The Flying Elephant in Our Class: Little Talents with Big Futures” scholarship is now accepting applications. The Foundation encourages primary and middle school faculty to recommend less-privileged students with art, music, dance, and other types of talent. Shortlisted individuals could receive a grant of up to NT$120,000, and selected group applicants could receive up to NT$200,000.
The program derives its name from the Disney animation “Dumbo”, in which the main character, a little elephant named Dumbo, was born with large wing-like ears and gets bullied by his peers. At the end of the story, Dumbo stages a turnaround by using his ears to fly. The scholarship was established to encourage more young talent to achieve their full potential instead of being lock downed in an exam-oriented education system. The Foundation has been partnering with school faculties and social workers to identify and nurture diversified talent for the benefit of society.
One of the group scholarship recipients, a soccer team from Taichung Situn Elementary School, won two championships in nationwide U10 and U12 soccer tournaments in the same year they received sponsorship. Mr. Yao-jun Tsai, the teacher who manages the soccer team, said, “These children were devoted to training and practicing after school all year round under the supervision of their coaches, Mr. Fu-Hao Hsu and Mr. Yi-Chuan Liao. The timely scholarship subsidized training supplies, equipment, and coach salaries, lessening the financial burdens for these children and encouraging them to achieve their full potential.
The Scholarship has been in place for ten years. There were 20 shortlisted applications (individuals and team combined), and the NT$1.4mn grant enabled more than 100 students to pursue their goals last year. The Foundation encourages school teachers and social workers to join this program that gives equal opportunities for talented children from disadvantaged families. For more details, please visit http://www.cdibf.org/show/show1.htm
