by Xin Yage

Like in mainland China, having disabled children was a source of shame for people in Taiwan. A Catholic home founded 40 years ago by a Dutch priest took in disabled children and prepared them for life. It also changed society by placing first the love of Christ and evangelisation. Each Easter, about 30 people are baptised. This is the story of Sister Petronelly, 89, who has run the facility for 40 years.

Taipei (AsiaNews) - Agustin, the porter, asked me if I was Catholic. He told me that he was baptised last Easter. I asked him if I could talk to Sister Petronelly. He told: "She rests until 2pm; you can see her after that." I expected a very old woman and that I would have to talk to her slowly to be understood. Instead, I met a bubbly 89-year-old whose Chinese name is 柯德蘭修女.

The nun was born in the Netherlands in 1923. After a life of mission among the disable and abandoned children of her native land, she flew to Taiwan when she was 49 on the invitation of Fr Beunen (白永恩神父), a fellow Dutchman and family friend who had come home to find volunteers to help out with disabled people in Taiwan.

"Fr Beunen spoke to my superior general and my family," Sister Petronelly said. "He told them: 'I need your daughter . . . plus a few others'. Those were the days. Fr Beunen was like a tank, an old-style missionary. Before, long before I arrived, he had founded a home for volunteers to help neighbourhood kids with limps and disabilities and organised them as a cooperative that would employ them so that they could be self-sufficient."

"The priest worked for six or seven years with polio kids in another nearby parish, not far from the Mingde Subway Station (明德站)," the nun explained. "The great emergency at the time were disabled kids who were neglected or put away. In those years, Taiwan was poor, not economically advanced as it is now. I arrived on 18 October 1972. At Christmas, we launched the idea of a home for these kids. By Epiphany I had six kids whose parents had left at our door, poor folks who did not have the means or the strength to raise them."

As in mainland China, "there was a moral stigma. Having a disabled child was viewed as a form of punishment or at least of shame. Giving them up was even more shameful. They did not want to be seen. Still, it would not be right to judge them; social pressures on them were very strong."

A few months ago, on the 40^th anniversary of St Anne's Home, a book with photos and stories from the time, was published. "At the time, we did not even have a washing machine. Everything had to be washed by hand. We had a load of diapers shipped in from the Netherlands, and Fr Beunen went to the United States to raise funds and attract volunteers. We slept together in the same big bed with the children. It was a big family and it still is today."

The new home was opened two years ago and now houses 42 children. The building has seven floors and includes a dental office. A general practitioner comes every two weeks for check-ups. At present, we have 28 of them on our payroll working in shifts 24 hours a day.

"I mentioned the hardships we faced at the beginning, but the generosity shown by people in Taipei and outside Taiwan was such that it allowed us to build and continue this great project. It is a sign of hope for all human beings who are the greatest gift God gave me in my life."

Staff members, including only one trained nurse, must intern for a year before hiring. "Each floor has six workers who carry out the work in shifts. In the first weeks, we figure out right away who can and who cannot take care of the children."

The kids are now in school. "This shows how far advanced Taiwan now is. Forty years ago, they were literally thrown out of hospitals, especially if they were disabled with health problems. Now they go to school every day until 4 pm. They have very good teachers, and they learn well or at least learn how to express themselves for those who are heavily disabled. Three of them are blind and go to a school for the blind with specialised teachers. In the evening, they are all in bed by nine."

The last 40 years have left us with many memories. "There are many beautiful memories. Living with these children was the greatest thing one could ask for. 'Who is purer than them?' Fr Beunen used to say. He died in 2002 and left us with the idea that we lived every day with exceptional people."

Some of stories from St Anne's Home are surprising. "Once a young woman came to the home and held one of the kids in her arms for about two hours, always the same child. I asked her if she was the mother and she said no, that she wanted to volunteer. This went on for a whole week. Then one day she came crying and behind her there was a man. They told me: 'We just got married. We are the child's mother and father. We want to take him back, which is what they did. The child made them happy."

Now St Anne Home is a foundation named after Fr Beunen and raises funds for charity. It plans to open another home like this one in the south, in Kaohsiung. "We shall see what the good Lord will tell us."

Above all, we shall never forget the engine of all this: faith. "We do evangelisation to the faith here. Each Sunday, we have five Masses in our small church, two in Chinese and three in English, because of a nearby American school and the presence of many foreigners. It is always nice to share. Each Easter, we have 20 to 30 baptisms. In fact, seeing the volunteers and workers take care of children is a school of life and faith."

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