TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A non-profit organization funded by a Taiwanese woman and her Filipino husband is calling for support this festive season as it seeks to build a loving home for children with irreversible brain injuries resulting from domestic violence.
Depending on the severity of the brain injury, the children experience various neuromuscular issues, including problems swallowing food and eating by themselves, a general difficulty performing actions such as crawling, grabbing objects, and walking, and cerebral palsy — an umbrella term used to describe a wide range of neurodevelopmental deficits.
Young survivors of domestic violence and trauma might not be well cared for at existing orphanages in Taiwan due to the difficulties involved in tending to their special needs. According to the United Nations Children's Fund's (UNICEF) 2013 Factsheet, these children, especially girls, are the most vulnerable to further abuse and neglect during their time in institutions. UNICEF data also show that improper healthcare management in unsupervised institutions often leads to increased morbidity and mortality.
Teng Hsin-Ting (鄧馨庭) and her husband, Dr. Joseph Anthony Narciso Z. Tiangco (田安克), experienced this firsthand in late 2017.
The couple is no stranger to charity, having spent nearly two years in Turkey providing humanitarian aid and free English and computer classes for Syrian refugees. Teng and Tiangco returned to Taiwan after the civil war in Syria grew even worse in 2015. That same year, the couple founded the Taiwan Love and Hope International Charity (社團法人台灣愛與希望國際關懷協會), which is dedicated to humanitarian work in Syria and the Philippines.
Meanwhile, the couple continued to engage in various charitable activities, including helping turn around a failing orphanage in Kaohsiung, where they met a baby girl with cerebral palsy who had been a victim of domestic violence.
After her second birthday, the girl had to leave the institution, but no other orphanages in the city wanted to take her in. She was later sent into a nursing home in Tainan, where she was not given adequate care because the staff were stretched too thin.
After learning of her plight, the Tiangco family made the decision to fight for her guardianship, bringing her home and nurturing her to better health. Today, the girl goes to a school for children with special needs and attends regular therapy sessions at medical centers in Kaohsiung.
In 2020, the couple was approached by a social worker hoping to find a home for another child with neuromuscular difficulties, and that event inspired Teng to establish a home for institutionalized children with severe disabilities.
Their organization is aiming to raise NT$18 million (NT$644,399) for the initiative at this stage. It is also calling for the public to support it by sharing or liking its Facebook page posts and YouTube videos to drive up awareness.
