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Cerebral palsy on the rise: center

The number of children afflicted by cerebral palsy is rising, according to the Catholic Private Savior Home, a Taitung institution dedicated to the care of children afflicted with the disorder.

The home's director, Sister Lin Hsiu-hua (林秀花), said at a fundraiser for the home yesterday in Taipei that cerebral palsy rates were increasing rapidly.

The number of children in her institution has increased threefold in the past six years, she said.

"Because of a lack of services and similar institutions, the number of children at Savior Home has increased from 20 to 60," Lin said, adding that the home's biggest problem was a lack of money.

Charlotte Han (韓宜靜), president of the Sino-German Cultural and Economic Association and an organizer of the fundraiser, said that rising alcohol abuse rates among pregnant women were to blame for the increase in cerebral palsy cases nationwide.

"Too many expectant mothers don't know how to take care of themselves," Han said.

Lin Shih-ku (林式穀), director of the Taipei City Psychiatric Center, which houses the country's only inpatient alcohol rehabilitation clinic, confirmed that alcoholism was on the rise, with as much as 5 percent of the nation's population thought to be addicted to alcohol.

But that isn't stopping Sister Lin from making sure Savior Home's children get the care they need, no matter how many of them there are.

She said that while the home can use all the help it can get, the children are still well taken care of.

Han said that the children at Savior Home had far fewer dental cavities than the national average for their age group, which she said was a reflection of the meticulous care they receive.

She added that she was impressed with how happy and well groomed the children were when she first visited the home six years ago.

Yesterday's fundraiser was graced by the likes of Pit Kohler, Deputy Director-General of the German Institute in Taiwan, and Jurgen Gerbig, Director of the German Cultural Center in Taipei.

"This is our first real opportunity to do philanthropy work in Taiwan, and we're excited," Gerbig said, referring to the center's teaming up with Han's association and the German Institute to hold a fundraising concert for the home on Sunday evening at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall.

For more information on the concert or how to donate to the Savior Home, call the Sino-German Cultural and Economic Association at (02) 2525-2824.
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