A social welfare group yesterday appealed to the public for donations to fund the construction of a nursing home for severely brain-damaged patients in Tsao-tun (
The Genesis Social Welfare Foundation said the completion of the project will bring it one step closer to its "one township, one sanatorium" goal.
According to the foundation's deputy secretary general Kuo Hui-ming (
"In the past 20 years or so, the foundation has helped more than 800 severely brain-damaged patients and their families. However, there are still about 6,000 patients in need of help," she said at a fund-raising fair held at Taipei's Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall.
The construction of the nursing facility in Tsao-tun will help the 131 severely brain damaged patients in the Nantou area receive specialist care she said.
Kuo referred to an instance in which a teenaged boy who was in one of the foundation's homes for two years regained his ability to live a normal life thanks to the care that he received.
Kuo said the boy now works in a restaurant and can even play billiards.
"Most people think people who have suffered severe brain damage are hopeless cases, but this case proves otherwise," Kuo said.
She said that the foundation has also broadened its service scope to include home services and rehabilitation for the severely brain damaged and offering emotional support for their families.
Several of its branch shelters have been involved in a rehabilitation cooperation program with Yang-ming University since the end of last year, including those in Taipei County, Tainan County and Taoyuan County.
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