CyberFair Project ID: 7964

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International Schools CyberFair Project Narrative
Title: The Reoccurrence of Rinari : A Story of Rebirth
Category: 7. Environmental Awareness
URL: http://librarywork.taiwanschoolnet.org/gsh2015/gsh7964/index.htm
Bibliography: http://librarywork.taiwanschoolnet.org/gsh2015/gsh7964/web2.htm

School: Kaohsiung Municipal Ying-Ming Junior High School
    Kaohsiung, , Taiwan (R.O.C.)

7 students, ages 13-15 worked together to complete this CyberFair project on February 25, 2015. They have participated in CyberFair in the following year(s): 2002

Classes and Teachers: PAN-JO WU

E-Mail contact:

Our School's Web Site: http://163.32.130.1/

Project Overview

1. Description of Our Community

Rinari is located in Pingtung county in Taiwan. It is an area of about 29 hectares, originally called Majia Farm and was the traditional territory of the aboriginal people of Majia villiage and Bei-yeh village. After the disaster brought by Typhoon Morak, in response to the implementation of the government’s reconstruction plan, this place accommodated the residents from Maka village of Maka Township, Dashe village of Sandimen Township and Hao-cha village of Wutai Township and was renamed “Rinari Tribe” by the three group of people, meaning “a place that waits for grace and every one of us goes to.”

2. Summary of Our Project

Taiwan has been hit by typhoon for numerous times. Whenever a typhoon comes, it is a survival challenge for the residents living in remote mountain areas. They even have to face the sadness and pain of forced relocation and of leaving their hometown. They might have the chance to return to their homeland if they are lucky. If not, their hometown would be completely swallowed by landslide. Yet can people like us who live in the city understand how the victims feel? How should the government, the victims and people in the society face and solve this question? Therefore, we decided to use “Rinari” as our research topic to investigate the environmental changes and reconstruction plans after Typhoon Morak severely hit the northern area of Pingtung on August 8th, 2009. Through this research, we hope to make people understand more about the impact of typhoon and the hardship of reconstruction and, consequently, to garner more support for the victims to help them stand up again and live a new life.

3. Our Computer and Internet Access

A. Percentage of students using the Internet at home:more than 50%

B. Number of workstations with Internet access in the classroom:more than 6

C. Connection speed used in the classroom:dedicated connection

D. Number of years our classroom has been connected to the Internet:more than 6

4. Problems We Had To Overcome

The teacher opened a course for us to learn to build webpages so that we don’t feel anxious. The teacher taught us how to frame questions for the interview and some expressing skills. We also simulated the interview. After practicing several times, we overcome our fear. We discussed via online video chat. However, some of them were unavailable when we had video chats; thus, we create groups on line and Facebook so that those who didn’t attend the discussion could know our discussing result. We were worried about whether we could accomplish our mission on time; therefore, we set up schedule on Google, recorded every mission and activity to control our schedule.

5. Our Project Sound Bite

Through this research, we not only understand the hardship of the post-disaster reconstruction work but also how to communicate with different groups of people and accept different cultures. More importantly, we saw how the aborigines fight for their homelands and pass down their traditional culture. We also saw their firm and persistent spirit, which is really admirable.

6. How did your activities and research for this CyberFair Project support standards, required coursework and curriculum standards?

We chose the post-disaster reconstruction area—“Rinari” as our research topic. We used what we learned about aboriginal history and culture, geography, and the concept of community construction to get to know about Rinari. We explored the nature of Rinari, appreciate the beauty of aboriginal culture and industries, and respect different groups of people and culture. We went to Rinari tribe in person to learn about how a post-disaster area is reconstructed. We saw the firmness and persistence of the victims, their confidence and ability of solving problems and their courage.

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Project Elements

1) What information tools & technologies did you used to complete your CyberFair project?

Making good use of technology tools helps us carry out our research project more efficiently, including group discussion and contact, data collecting and integration, and webpages settings. We rely on these technology tools. The hardware we used includes computer, camera, DV, Pad, and web cam. The software we used includes FrontPage 2003, GoldWave 5.22, Microsoft Word, Google Earth, Google Map, Google hangouts, Facebook, Line, Gmail, Google drive, and Google calendar.

2) In what ways did you act as "ambassadors" and spokespersons for your CyberFair project both on-line and in person.

Mrs. Wang Qiong Ying, one of the staff in the Reconstruction Council, helped us arrange the interview with the director of Reconstruction Council, Mr. Chern Jenn Chuan; the director of World Vision, Mr. Chuan Guo Chen, the residents in Rinari, the director of Evergreen Lily Elementary School, and so on. Through the participants’ share of their experiences, we understood that the disaster affected Taiwan a lot, and the reconstruction work was difficult. They felt comforted after our interview, for there aren’t many junior high school students who are willing to do a research about post-disaster reconstruction issues of the aborigines. We hope that there would be more people who would care for the residents in the disaster area by this activity. We also hope that the precious experiences could be passed down.

3) What has been the impact of your project on your community?

Through this project, we saw how Taiwan was struck by typhoons, earthquakes, landslides, and other nature disasters; and we saw how Rinari, the reconstructed sustainable community was reborn with many people’s assistance. We hope that by participating in the World Cyber Fair, people can pay more attention to the environmental protection of Taiwan to prevent such disaster from happening again. We hope that we can do our best to help them, because only by caring for minority groups can we put social justice into practice.

4) How did your project involve other members of your community as helpers and volunteers?

It is inevitable that we use some information on the Internet when doing our research project; the references should be cited and rearranged. For the photos, apart from those we took by ourselves, some of them were provided by Reconstruction Council, we used them after cited. Besides, we wrote to Apple Daily to apply for the authorization of the news photos of Morakot disaster. As for the reflections and the reports, we interviewed, recorded, and wrote them by ourselves. We paid attention to the regulations of intellectual properties when browsing and collecting information on the Internet. Considering that our works should be protected and promoted, we decided to use the CC authorization mode which is non-commercial by labeling our names.

5) Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises (Optional)

Before the research, we thought the victims would be sad and depressed; however, after we visited Rinari, we found that they face their future optimistically, and they never give up. It was touching! After this research, everyone understands that the post-disaster reconstruction is done by many people’s efforts, not only the government and the non-profit organizations but also the residents’ sincerity and firmness.

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View our CyberFair Project (Project ID: 7964)

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