Nearly 23 percent of the nation’s disadvantaged children are underweight, while about one-third sleep inadequately guarded against the winter cold, a survey released by the Child Welfare League Foundation showed.
The poll conducted in October last year showed that 29.8 percent of the children surveyed said their winter bedclothes are inadequate against the cold, 17.1 percent had to take a cold shower in the absence of gas heating, while 22.6 percent were underweight.
The survey also showed that 95.5 percent of the children said they would be willing to help others of their own initiative, while 63.7 percent participated in a charitable event over the past year.
The children live up to the axiom: “It is more blessed to give than to receive,” the foundation said.
The survey also said that 43.7 percent of disadvantaged children in remote areas live in insect-ridden environments, while 36.7 percent of those area’s students come from the families that can barely afford school registration fees, let alone extracurricular activities.
Foundation executive director Chen Li-ju (陳麗如) said the ratio of insufficiently clothed children (29.8 percent) has decreased compared with last year, though there is still room for improvement.
The survey investigated a new category, showing that 16.1 percent of the children surveyed were “child home-keepers,” because both of their parents work, Chen said.
Chen said child home-keepers face malnutrition, as their body mass index (BMI) was 10 percent lower than that recorded for children in urban areas.
The survey showed 26.9 percent of children who take on the bulk of housekeeping duties have lower BMI readings compared with 22.6 percent of children in remote areas, while 24.5 percent of them have made doctor visits unaccompanied by their parents, including 11.9 percent who made the visits without any accompanying adult.
Chen said the charity campaign Light Up a Life plans to raise NT$100 million (US$3.1 million) to mark its 30th anniversary this year, an collect an extra NT$2 million raised in conjunction with the CTBC Charity Foundation to assist 3,000 disadvantaged pupils in remote areas.
However, according to the foundation, so far only 10 percent of the amount has been raised since last month, likely due to the crowding-out effect of funds raised for people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and in response to the Greater Kaohsiung gas pipeline explosions.
As the fundraising push is to conclude by the end of March, Chen called on the generosity of the public to help children in need.
The survey collected 903 valid samples from disadvantaged pupils in the fourth to sixth grade nationwide and had a margin of error of 4 percentage points.
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