Elderly Farmer Donates Orchard to Help Disabled Adults in Pingtung; Bethany Home Launches Charity Lychee Pre-order

(CNA, Pingtung County, May 19, by reporter Huang Yu-ching) An elderly farmer in Pingtung is providing his lychee orchard and cultivation techniques free of charge to help residents of the Pingtung Bethany Home, who are intellectually disabled, achieve rehabilitation and horticultural therapy through farm labor. With the recent harvest of Yu Her Pau lychees, the home has launched a charity pre-order program, hoping for public support for the residents' self-reliance. Li Yun-shan, the general supervisor of Pingtung Bethany Home, told the media today that the institution currently cares for 108 residents, half of whom require assistance such as feeding and diaper changing and cannot participate in labor. The other residents who are physically mobile participate in work at the lychee orchard accompanied by teachers, as part of their rehabilitation and horticultural therapy, slowing their physical and mental decline through tasks like weeding, fertilizing, fruit thinning, and harvesting. Li said the lychee orchard, located under the Xiezhang Bridge on the banks of the Kaoping River, is owned by an elderly farmer surnamed Wang. Nearly 90 years old and gradually unable to farm due to his age, his successful children had advised him to retire. Unwilling to see the orchard become derelict and recognizing the long-term difficulty the institution faced in caring for its residents, he began teaching them cultivation techniques for free 10 years ago. Initially, he only provided half of the orchard for the Bethany children to cultivate, but this year he entrusted the entire one-hectare plot, supporting the children's self-reliance with his kindness. Li pointed out that the lychee orchard has become an important opportunity for residents to interact with the outside world. Many residents rarely have the chance to go out and most have no family. At the orchard, they interact with the elderly farmer, calling him 'Grandpa,' bringing joy to both sides. Usually, teachers can only bring a few children at a time, and those not chosen queue up, waiting for their turn, which shows their fondness for the orchard. The old farmer also feels this orchard is 'very valuable.' The Pingtung Bethany Home stated that the Yu Her Pau lychees in the orchard are grown using natural grass cultivation to reduce the burden on the land. This year's yield is good, with plump and sweet fruit, totaling about 3,000 catties (approx. 1,800 kg). It is expected to be packed into 1,000 boxes of 3 catties each for public purchase. A donation of NT$3,600 will receive one box, while NT$5,000 will receive one box and a bottle of honey. The proceeds will be used for the residents' care, with the hope that society will support their self-reliance.