
Nick Ackert
花東英語生活營創始成員
The camp is not about us, it’s about the kids.
All of you guys, H2H, the counseling team, everybody, parents... you’ve had an exhausting day, and the last thing anybody needs is more talking.
But, as Adrian and I, as well as several other people who couldn’t be here this evening… have had a lot of experience over the past ten years... we’re hoping that you’ll listen just for a couple more minutes and bear with us while we share our thoughts.
And you guys lucked out because originally, I was going to give this speech in Mandarin! Then you guys would have really struggled, but I thought, “no, I’m not going to do that!”
And the other reason [for not using Chinese]… and I say this seriously, is that this is an English camp. It’s Huadung English Camp, and in the spirit of that, I thought it was important that as one of the founding members, I address you guys in English tonight.
And I know as English teachers and counselors, all of you guys know what I’m saying, so I’m not going to beat around the bush, and I will keep it quick.
Angela asked me to share my thoughts... and I have two things:
The first is a memory of the past, and the second is a look forward into the future.
When Angela asked me to share a memory… it was really, really difficult to choose because after four years of my service in the camp, and together we have all worked with over 1600 kids, there’s so much, but I thought I would instead choose something that was more directly relevant to many people in this room:
As a veteran, when we come back, we tend to be critical and think “Oh wow! We would have done it differently.” Or, “How different things must have been!”
But the actual truth is that when Adrian and I walked into the curriculum room - because we were former curriculum team members, and I’m speaking directly now to the curriculum team , you guys are holding the keys to the kingdom here - we were just simply blown away.
You guys have become so accomplished. Each and every single one of you, regardless what team you’re from, have become leaders in your own way.
And the way that nearly forty of you guys could work together seamlessly, step up to the plate, do your work, and get the job done - that kind of efficiency is something that we never could have imagined. So I just want to share that “A-ha!” moment that both of us had when we saw you there.
On that note, that leads to my second point, which is that obviously, we’re celebrating tonight and we’ve had an amazing ten years together.
But causes for celebration are also a time for reflection. And I think it’s really important that each and every single one of us all think carefully about what it is that we are celebrating and why.
In my own view, I think Heart to Heart is an amazing program. There are plenty of programs that have been around for longer than we have.
But why have we been so successful?
It’s because we’re as good at listening as we are at teaching, and each year we learn to adapt.
The first year, when it was just Adrian and me and six of our close friends at TAS, Sanders as well, all of us, to be honest - we really didn’t know what we were doing.
We were working with three schools and one hundred kids in each school, and the goal was to feed them, to get them BianDan (便當) because they didn’t get anything to eat.
We realized that our initial goals in setting up this camp were two things: It was to take care of the campers and it was to teach them English.
And when year two came around and we were lucky enough to work with the Alliance Foundation, in no small part thanks to Mr.Stanley Yan and Ms. Angela Tsai, we did a hardcore curriculum reset:
We hired somebody with a Princeton education who was of Chinese descent but did not speak Mandarin and who got in with us in each of the classrooms and taught us how to teach an entire lesson in English without a single word of Chinese.And that’s the root where our interactive curriculum came from.
We’re so inspired by the way that it’s continuing to grow. Each and every year we’ve been successful because of all of you, and because of your edits
To make long story short, as we move forward to the future, the one thing I want to ask ourselves is this:
Why are we here? What are we doing? And what kind of impact are we making?
The two goals have always been: To take care of our kids and to teach them English, as this is an English language summer camp.
My hope for the future is that we continue to evolve and keep listening to our kids and listening to each other in coming up with new and innovative ways of doing that.
The last note I want to close on, and it’s something again that I commend all of you guys for, is that in order to do that, you have to get uncomfortable.
You know it is really, really difficult to work one on one with kids, especially when they’re feeling alone, and they’re isolated, and they come from really, really difficult family situations that none of us can possibly imagine.
They’ve been ostracized and marginalized. And we want to do everything that we can to protect them. And that’s why all of us are here.
But sometimes in our desire to protect them and to comfort them, we also lose sight of what our original goal is. Which was to address all of the issues that Mr.Yen talked about this morning in his speech:
These kids, they are not victims, they are innovators.
They are creators. They are survivors.
And when we work with them, we need to keep in that spirit and know that they’re tough and resilient.
And we need to continue using English with them, because that is the only way - in the world that has left them with no choice but to continue to protect and to spread their culture. And that has always been, and will always be our, mission.
And I can’t stress that enough as we consider not only sitting on our laurels and celebrating all the amazing things we’ve accomplished, but also moving forward. Because if we don’t, if we reflect really carefully on what we’ve actually accomplished:
The camp is not about us, it’s about the kids. The tears, the goodbyes, the piñatas, the ceremonies, the celebrations, the self expression
All of it is wonderful, but it’s also not sustainable. And we need to continue pushing as hard as we can, or else we only become glorified babysitters.
We need to continue to adapt and change, and to show the same level of creativity and innovation that all of our children have shown us.
And if we’re too afraid to innovate and to be brave, it’s not fair for us to expect the same from them.
So I congratulate everyone for an amazing ten years, and as we continue to grow together,
I can’t wait to see what I know we’ll accomplish.
Thanks for listening.
///
The best way to plan for our future is to learn from our past -
to preserve our core mission of caring for our campers and teaching them English, and never being afraid to innovate and grow because our work is never done.

童愉 Fish
2011/2012 -活動組組員 -活動組組長
英語營對我來說,是一個起點、一種初衷。
這2011年的暑假,當時還是準備升上大二的學生,
因為一通系辦的電話懵懵懂懂報名了英語營的志工,
但這個決定卻成為了我之後選擇和發展的關鍵影響。
英語營搭起我跟公益平台文化基金會的緣分,
也讓我很幸運地在大學階段就有機會從不同領域培養自己的能力;
與人、與我生長的土地有更深的連結;也能夠有機會發掘自己的熱忱所在。
因為英語營以及在基金會的志工經驗,在大學即將畢業之際,
參與了楊百翰大學以及玻里尼西亞文化中心的亞洲經理人才培訓計畫,
透過基金會以及其他大天使們的協助,爭取到全額獎學金至夏威夷進修。
而也因為夏威夷的學習經驗,拓展了我對族群、文化學不同視角的深廣視野,
並做了投入教育領域的職涯決定,
不僅如此,也讓我選擇在台灣的大學繼續學習族群關係與文化學的相關知識。
這些累積的學習養分,都是我在均一實驗高中服務時,樂於跟學生們分享的。
2011年的營隊結束前,我給自己一個期許,
「希望我能夠成為一個榜樣,讓這些弟弟妹妹們知道,
我能做到的,你們一定也可以,甚至可以比我做得更好。」
2019年,是我進到均一服務的第四年,在教室內、教室外跟學生一起成長,
帶領學生們一起從生長的這塊土地出發,連結到其他族群與國家,思考不同的議題與價值。
看著曾經是學員的孩子們開始成為志工,
去更多理解和實踐服務真正的意義,努力打開心裡的眼睛跟耳朵去認識和傾聽,
對生命跟生命之間的連結有感,然後學習去分享與回饋,改變與善的循環是真實地在發生。
當我在工作上遇到瓶頸或是挫折,我就會回頭想想營隊帶給我的啟發,
思考自己的初衷,而這些學員們的生命故事,常常都成為我持續前進的動力。
謝謝英語營,謝謝曾經支持並幫助我的人事物,
希望自己能夠在這條路上繼續身體力行,實踐所學習到的文化價值與精神。
次營後訪視讓我跟孩子更拉近了距離,也徹底地脫下了玫瑰色的眼鏡,看見了孩子真實的學習狀況。同時,因為搜集了更多相關資訊之後,更知道該在下一次的營隊當中調整課程設計,提供孩子實用的學習與生活技能。

李畹琪 Judy Lee
在營隊中,跳脫原本舒適圈,並從不同的職位去挑戰自我。
每一年,若有機會,我會盡量參與英語營的活動。即使沒有辦法在七月時出隊,若能夠培訓時協助,我也盡力出席。很開心今年有個回娘家活動,從Farewell Party和Closing Ceremony 可以深深的感受到英語營的初衷從未改變,更棒的是,為了能夠讓初衷更顯意義,營隊持續的再調整與進步!看到孩子們勇敢的站自台上展現自我,用英文與族語介紹自己與營隊心得時,讓我非常的感動,也相信改變的種子一直在茁壯。
有許多的志工夥伴曾問過我:「為什麼會一直回來參加英語營?」我想最大的原因是來自於自我的成長。我很幸運地在營隊中擔任過三種角色,組員、組長、營長,每個角色息息相關之外,更是讓自己有機會可以去磨練與突破。擔任組員時,了解營隊本質與運作,並努力讓所設計的活動與營隊互相搭配呼應;擔任組長時,學習將過去經驗統整並傳達,讓新夥伴們發光發熱;擔任營長時,懂得為大局著想,在對的時間點作出合適的判斷與決定。不同層面的精進與收穫,是讓我一再回來的動力。因此,若今年是各位志工們的第一、二年,真心推薦你們,再回來營隊,並跳脫原本舒適圈,從不同的職位去挑戰自我。
2013- 活動組組員 2014 -活動組組長
2016- 英語營營長

周胤龍 Umas
花東英語營是一個創造夢想以及回憶、具有魔力的地方。
很常有人問我,花東英語營是不是有某種魔力,才會讓我每年都想回去參加。的確,英語營確實有種魔力,因為對我來說花東英語生活營,從來就不是一個只是教英文的營隊,而是一個創造夢想以及回憶的地方。
2011年及2012的夏天,我以學員的身份參與了營隊。我記得我當時知道入選之後,其實我心裡是很抗拒這個營隊的,因為這個營隊不但要裡開家人去跟一群陌生人相處,然後還要學習我最不喜歡的英文。但在六天五夜的營期裡,我深刻的被那些說著一口流利英文的哥哥姐姐們吸引,加上,當時開營典禮的時候,嚴總裁也說,只要我們肯把英文學好,即使是來自偏鄉,總有一天也會被國際看見。這些因素,我開始認為學習英文是一件很酷的事,並開始有了想要走跟其他家族成員不一樣的路—出國。
而英語營團體式的學習加上其他志工們的鼓勵,讓從小就很害羞的我,慢慢地透過營隊找到自己在團隊中的定位以及價值。而他們的陪伴,也慢慢地改變了我很多做人處事的方式。而我在營隊結束之後,我也告訴我自己一定要把英文學好,然後穿上深藍色的營服成為志工再次回來,讓個營隊的感動可以延續下去。更希望自己可以透過自己一點小小的努力,讓花東更多孩子可以因為這個營隊改變自己,改變人生。
從2011年第一次以學員身份參加英語,到2018以志工身份第五次回來英語營,在這幾年裡,我看見英語營每年都在不斷的改變及進步,但唯一不變的是,這個營隊每一年都在創造出很多令人動容的故事。很謝謝英語營每年都願意回到台東來默默的為花東的孩子付出,也謝謝英語營讓不管是志工還是孩子都有一個可以改變彼此的機會。也許學員的改變,無法在短短的十來天裡展現,但我們永遠也不知道,或許這些我們種下的種子,未來可能因為這個營隊,成長成一棵大樹。
2011、2012、2013、2014學員;2018生輔組組員

Guo Chen
The camp provided me a place to grow and become whoever I want...
We're always on the camper's side, watching over their shoulders, and helping them whenever needed. Now, for a kid to know there's always a home or a person that will always support him/her no matter what, that's huge. The impact we have on these campers... it's real and incredible!! We really do change their life... Homesick kid not wanting to leave at the end of camp... Kids messaging me he'll go "do homework later" or "good night", campers sobbing at the junyi hallway on the last day....
Srsly, this camp is SO much more than teaching English.. It's incredible how simply 8 weeks of summer has changed my life and personality... Words can't express how much this camp means to me and to all the volunteers... The camp really brings people together in ways I can't describe... It provided me a place to grow and become whoever I want... It taught me discipline, teamwork, leadership, and so, so much more.... And every time I see the kids pronounce a word correctly, tell me' "I want to become a volunteer", or ask me, "Will I see you next year?", I know at that instant... all the midnight eng grinds, countless hours spent, and decreasing sleep... it was all worth it... :))
To all the 2019 h2h volunteers... you guys are my family... I cannot be more than grateful to be part of this incredible journey... Asah jelly, midnight grind, cicada, ABSOLUTE A class chaos, baby boss, deep talks.... and srsly, dancing has NEVER been so fun yet so sad at the same time... I'm rly rly gna miss this family and junyi :((
To H2H and every volunteers I've worked with, thank you for shaping who I am today, and this camp will always hold a very special place in my heart... okay camp blues is hitting me really hard now :(, but I'll end with this:
"Fully enjoy and live every moment... because you never fully cherish what happens until you're leaving."