World Vision Taiwan, a Christian relief and advocacy group, is calling on the public to donate NT$2,000 per month to help 982 needy children grow up in a more healthy environment.
A staffer for the advocacy group said that more than 40 percent of the children on its list come from single-parent families or households where grandparents are the main carers. About 60 percent of the parents or grandparents have an education of less than grade nine or middle high school, while some are illiterate.
Many of the children live with a parent who is an alcoholic or addicted to gambling and unable to support the family financially, the group said.
As the children do not have a normal parent to guide them through school and, worse, do not have financial stability, they are often forced to drop out, it said.
Financial assistance for these children can make a world of difference, the group said, citing as an example Tu Chi-tsung (杜繼宗), the basketball coach at Majia Junior High School in Pingtung County. His team won the championship in a nationwide competition last year.
“I had been a recipient of World Vision aid since grade school. I must say thank you to World Vision for helping make me what I am today,” Tu said.
While it has been doing all it can to help needy kids in other nations, World Vision Taiwan said that there are at least 982 under-privileged children in Taiwan.
It called on the general public to make donations that can be used to help change the fortunes of these children so that they have a better chance of realizing their life ambitions.
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