 Bill McCullough at Daniel Poling Orphanage Visit
By Cheryl Robbins On November 21, 2007, AmCham Taichung members were invited to tour the Daniel A. Poling Babies’ Home. This home is located in an L-shaped complex off of LeQun Street, near YingCai Road and the Taichung Municipal Cultural Center. This home is managed by the Hsiang Shang Children Welfare Foundation and cares for 96 children, including orphaned and abandoned infants and children with mental and physical disabilities.
The first floor of the home is set aside for the children with the severest disabilities including cerebral palsy and other neurological disorders. Although mostly or completely bedridden, and with only limited response to outside stimuli, many of the children turn their heads toward the familiar voices of the staff members who accompany our group. Our guide introduces us to each child, telling us their name, age and background. A majority of them were abandoned by their families who were unwilling or unable to care for them. The youngest is only a few months old.
Outside, there are a group of photo collages of children at a park, undergoing physical therapy and receiving computer training. We are told that once a week a group of children are taken out into the community, to the local market or to a park, to gain confidence in interacting with the general public. Those that are able also attend special education classes at a nearby school. Almost all of the children undergo physical therapy at the home, as well as at a local hospital.
Upstairs we viewed the physical therapy and occupational therapy classrooms. In one, a little girl plays with a toy telephone. She puts it down as soon as she sees us and comes running over with a smile and a hug. She is older than she looks, her development slowed by injuries suffered from an abusive parent. We also meet one of the home’s volunteers, a doctor from Jen Ai Hospital.
Next, we visit the dorm areas, which are referred to as “family units”. Our guide points out that the buildings are quite old and need repair and improvements. For example, the staff would like to install sliding doors to the entrance of each of the dorm areas to better accommodate wheelchair traffic, and parquet flooring in areas that are cement floor now would increase the space for play. In one of the dorm areas, we meet two teenage boys, both abandoned at a very young age due to severe physical challenges. Both are wheelchair bound, but they are all smiles. They tell us that they are best friends. One is learning how to play the piano and teaching the other, although his friend only has use of one of his arms. They also hope to learn English.
One of our last stops is the computer classroom. The guide explains that through specialized software, children who cannot speak or write can learn how to communicate. But, the problem in implementing such a program is a lack of computers. A few old CRT monitors sit in the corner, although well-intentioned donations, this is not the hardware that is needed.
Coming away from this visit, there is a sense that although resources are limited the children here are well cared for, and most importantly are loved.
For more information about the Hsiang Shang Children Welfare Foundation, go online to www.child-home.org.tw. If you would like to be involved in fundraising and other efforts to help this home, we invite you to join AmCham Taichung’s Kidz Committee. For more information, please contact Cheryl Robbins at
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