A Chinese spouse, who is raising four children, sets up "house rules" to save on water and electricity costs.

Mom Chen knows that the old refrigerator consumes a lot of electricity, but there is no extra money at home to replace it.

The electricity savings give the family more disposable income.

"If we can save electricity, the kids' pocket money will increase by 50 dollars." After DOMI replaced the LED lights, this 21-year-old bride from mainland China, who speaks with a local accent, shared this small wish.

Mom Chen (anonymous) has four children and lives in a rented house. She works as a park cleaner. Since she is still able to work, she can only receive about 7,000 NTD in low-income household subsidies, which is barely enough to support the family. To save money, she has to cook for herself.

Wanting to save energy but lacking the means

"Water, electricity, and gas bills make up about 10% to 20% of the expenses." Mom Chen counted on her fingers. The refrigerator at home was bought with a consumer voucher issued by former President Ma Ying-jeou in 2008 and has been in use for 10 years. It makes a loud noise when running, and not only is it noisy but it also consumes a lot of electricity. When asked if she thought about replacing it with an energy-efficient refrigerator, she smiled. Replacing it would cost money. She had visited a local electronics store, and the price for a new one was at least 10,000 NTD, which she simply couldn’t afford.

As for the air conditioner, to save electricity, she only uses it for two hours during meals and one hour before the kids go to bed. After that, they rely on electric fans to last through the night. Since the family has no energy-efficient appliances and replacing them costs money, she has set specific "house rules" to save electricity.

To save water, every faucet in the house is fitted with a water-saving device. In areas that use more water, like the kitchen and bathroom, she intentionally adjusts the flow to the minimum. "This is how we save water," she proudly shows her "results."

For Mom Chen, saving on energy costs is not difficult. But when it comes to her children, her usually cheerful voice slowly falters.

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Bringing hope and change to a family

"My eldest son has been different from other kids since kindergarten. It seems like he has a stealing habit." Mom Chen honestly admits that because of financial difficulties, she couldn’t give her children extra pocket money. When her son saw his classmates buying snacks at school, he felt inferior, which eventually led to behavioral problems. Mom Chen said her son would steal things from his classmates, but not for himself. Instead, he would bring the items home and throw them out of the window to vent his frustration. One time, she angrily pinched her son’s thigh as punishment, but this led to accusations of domestic violence from her in-laws, and social workers came to the house to investigate.

Simply cutting expenses for the family leaves Mom Chen feeling overwhelmed, and the economic problems give rise to issues with raising her children, which seem unsolvable. "Even 10 dollars can be enough, 15 dollars is still usable. We save every little bit." Turning away to wipe away a tear, she becomes that sharp and cheerful Mom Chen again. She says she still hopes the light replacement will help save the family money and allow her to give the kids more pocket money. "At least it will make them less self-conscious in the future."

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Because of your participation, the "Endless Hope" action not only reduces carbon emissions in Taiwan but also brightens a family’s life. This light shines on children studying at 7-Eleven, on elderly people flipping through old photo albums alone, and on family members standing beside the sickbed, their eyes filled with love and reluctance.

Let us have the opportunity to enter disadvantaged families, improve their lives, and invite you to work with us long-term to address energy poverty issues.

Switching your paper bills to e-bills means your bank will convert the printing and mailing costs, as well as other fees related to encouraging you to switch to e-bills, into resources to support families struggling with energy poverty, reducing unnecessary waste and creating the greatest social impact.