S.C.F. SUPPORTS 100,000 NEEDY

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31462, 31 August 1967, Page 12

S.C.F. SUPPORTS 100,000 NEEDY

There are more than 100,000 needy children in 27 countries throughout the world who daily depend on the Save the Children Fund for their food, health and happiness.

Each day more than $B9OO is spent in helping these children; $3 million a year is needed to enable the fund to carry on its work. The ultimate aims of the fund are, first to create conditions in which children can grow to a healthy maturity; and, second, to train local workers to take over the responsibility themselves.

Next month 22 branches and sub-branches of the fund in New Zealand will organise the annual Rice Bowl appeal. In the North Canterbury area, the appeal will be held during a special week from September 15 to 22.

The publicity officer for the branch (Mrs R. Stockwell) said that although the spending of the money varied a little from year to year, the New Zealand Save the Children Fund had committed itself to support certain schemes—which most of the money would go to. Special Projects Most of the money collected from last year’s appeal had gone to Vietnam, Korea, Jordan, Greece, Uganda, Hong Kong, India, Italy and the Gilbert and Ellice Islands, but $lOOO had been sent to the London headquarters’ general

funds for disaster relief and special projects. Mrs Stockwell said that the biggest commitment was Korea; $25,052 had been sent for beggar boys’ homes there, salaries of Korean staff and the Children’s Charity Hospital. In addition, 16 tons of milk powder costing $6464 had been sent for the sick and welfare baby clinics and the S.C.F. children’s wing at the National Tuberculosis Hospital at Masan. Jordan had received $5300 for drugs for the children’s hospital medical staff salaries and the maintenance of transport for mobile clinics. New Zealand bad also supplied 500,000 vitamin capsules worth $637; and 28 tons of milk powder valued at $7064 were being sent About 12 tons of skim milk powder and $4OOO in cash from New Zealand will help support the nutritional rehabilitation unit in Uganda. This unit is helping to combat a widespread protein deficiency disease which affects 80 to 90 per cent of the young children. Greek Children

Last year $12,000 from the rice bowl appeal was allotted to the war widows’ training centre and creche at Qui Nbon in Vietnam. This centre is under the joint care of the New Zealand S.C.F. and the Australian S.C.F.

Each year $14,000 is sent to Greece to feed children in kindergartens in the isolated mountain areas where the S.C.F. mobile clinics give the only medical care these children receive.

Milk powder valued at $lO,OOO was sent to Bihar in India; an Italian self-help scheme received $6OO and the Gilbert and Ulice Islands received two tons of milk powder for children recovering from a serious measles epidemic.