A ray of hope for women in Taiwan

Fourteen years ago, three missionaries were praying for Taiwan, that God would respond to the need of the many young pregnant women they were ministering to. In response, these three women decided to start an organization called Ray of Hope.
Taiwan has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in Asia. Taiwan has the highest abortion rate in Asia and the lowest birthrate in the world. One out of two pregnancies end in abortion. Sex-selective abortions are not legal but still happen because boys are preferred.
Recently, Ray of Hope’s director, Juanita Hebard spoke to SPU students about the work of Ray of Hope.
Many times in Taiwan, parents force their daughters to have abortions, Hebard said. Ray of Hope provides a home for those pregnant women who have no where to go of they want to keep their child. The maternity home or mama’s home as Hebard called it has two live-in counselors and is furnished almost entirely of items donated by local businesses. Eight pregnant mothers are able to live in the home which opened in October.
The clinic run by Ray of Hope is the only clinic in the city of Tainan that does not perform abortions. According to Hebard, doctors in Taiwan do not talk about adoption because it is considered a double death– death to self in being pregnant and death in giving up the child.
Ray of Hope gives these women another option. Their crisis pregnancy center offers counseling, a 24 hour help line, fetal and abortion education, pre and postnatal follow up, parenting classes, post abortion and sexual abuse recovery and adoption referrals.
Six hours away from Ray of Hope’s center in Tainan is the orphanage where 500 babies have been adopted. Of the 25 babies currently at the orphanage, 18 of them are are from Ray of Hope. The children adopted from this orphanage are only adopted to couples who are not able to have children of their own.
Ray of Hope does not stop with care of pregnant women and adoption. they also run a thrift store in order to train and give mothers opportunities.
Ray of Hope wants to change the culture that creates the need they are meeting. The Worth Waiting for program presents in schools, churches and other organizations. This program teaches students the importance of sexual purity and the sanctity of life. They bring fetal baby models to show children what they looked like before they were born. The curriculum also teaches the importance of boundaries in dating and protecting the heart.
Hebard said that one of the goals of their organization is to break the shame in Taiwan. She also wants people to see that the doctors are lying, “It’s not [just] tissue, it’s a life!”