ROC first lady Chow Mei-ching will travel to Haiti and the Dominican Republic Aug. 29 on a humanitarian mission to check on conditions for survivors of the powerful earthquake that struck earlier this year.
She will also visit six children she and President Ma Ying-jeou have been sponsoring.
Chow will be visiting as the honorary head of the Red Cross Society of the Republic of China and an ambassador for World Vision Taiwan. The trip is scheduled to end Sept. 5.
The earthquake that devastated Haiti in January left 220,000 dead, 300,000 injured and at least 1.7 million homeless.
World Vision Taiwan has raised NT$198 million (US$6.2 million) for disadvantaged children of the disaster and has helped victims rebuild their homes.
Kuo Hsiu-ling, an executive with the Christian relief organization, said, “Chow has wanted to visit victims and sponsored children since the earthquake struck, but the plan was postponed so as not to interfere with relief work.”
“The trip will not involve any official meetings,” Kuo noted. “Chow will visit post-disaster shelters and orphanages set up by the two organizations and show her support for the food provision plan sponsored by the Taiwan government.”
World Vision Taiwan has sponsored over 10,000 children in Haiti and the Dominican Republic for more than 10 years, moving Chow to say, “The love of Taiwan’s people knows no borders, making it an important diplomatic force.”
According to World Vision Taiwan, as many as 80 percent of Haitians live below the poverty line, with conditions even worse in the aftermath of the quake.
World Vision Taiwan currently sponsors 7,500 disadvantaged children in Haiti and another 2,700 families in the Dominican Republic, both of which are diplomatic allies of Taiwan. (KML-THN)