wfn.org | Central Taiwan Medical Volunteers Serve Aboriginal

[Taiwan Church News <pctpress@ms1.hinet.net>]

Village's Needs
Taiwan Church News 2642, October 20, 2002
Reported by Tio Leng-kip.  Translated and Rewritten by David
Alexander

   The church and society committee of Taichung Presbytery in
Central Taiwan has joined with a local social service association
and the Red Cross to send a medical service team into several
isolated Aboriginal villages in two counties.  On October 13th
the combined strength of these groups sent 3 doctors, 3 nurses
and 12 other volunteers to offer dental, pediatric and internal
medicine services to 70 children and 50 adults at Tan-nan
Presbyterian Church in Hsin-yi Township.
   The village is home to 140 families, most of whom belong to
either the local Presbyterian or Roman Catholic Church.  One part
time clinic, staffed two days a week by a visiting nurse, serves
the medical needs.  Many middle aged and elderly residents of the
village have chronic medical needs, and dental problems among the
children are common.
   Service team leader, Dr. Wang Hong-chih DDS, said, "In the
past the dental health of Taiwan's Aborigines was very good, but
since shops have opened up in the villages, and sweets have
become widely available, children's teeth have deteriorated to
the point where there is no difference between the village
population and that of the plains."  Dr. Wang hopes that the
clinic visits will have an effect on general dental health in the
villages they visit.
   Isubalagan Ivi, the pastor if Tan-nan Church, pointed out that
the village is 20 to 30 kilometers from the nearest towns with
regular medical services, about an hour by road, and that there
is no public transportation available. This results in minor
medical problems not being taken to a doctor. Local residents
also suffer from higher than average problems with high blood
pressure, strokes, liver, alcohol related and other diseases.
These are not uncommon even among the young.  Life expectancy in
the village is below Taiwan's average, and the proportion of
elderly residents is higher than Taiwan in general.
   Though not all members of the service team were Christians,
nonetheless all extended their services to the mountains in love
for the people there.  Differences of race, residence and
religion did not hamper the relationship.

For more information: Taichung Presbytery  www.pcttcp.org.tw
				     B8972083@ms25.hinet.net
		  Tan-nan Presbyterian Church  TEL: +886 49 274
1460

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