CRIPPLED CHILDREN

Evening Post, Volume CXXII, Issue 121, 18 November 1936, Page 18

CRIPPLED CHILDREN

SOCIETY'S FINE WORK

SUPPORT STILL NEEDED

Because of Lord Nuffield's magnifl-j cent gifts for crippled children, the j public had unfortunately gained the| impression that the crippled children's 1 i problem had been solved for all time) in this country, remarked Mr. J. Melt-1 zer when outlining to Rotariaus yesterday the work of the Wellington Crippled Children's Society, which is actively supported by the Rotary Club. Such an attitude, however, he would describe as wickedly wrong, for there were some 5000 crippled children in New Zealand and an estimated increase of 500 a year." Had last year's income from the Nuffield Trust money been equally divided among the 1000 registered last year it would have meant 27s for each cripple for the year; but, were that number increased \o 5000,' it would mean only 5s for each cripple for the year. Those figures were telling. Rotarians, said Mr. Meltzer, had become cripple conscious, and were doing work ■ even greater than they imagined. , The matter of collecting donations had become too burdensome for those who had up to the present given up much of their time and energy to it, and the society had nowappointed a welfare officer in Mrs. May and looked for fine results. The society's job consisted in the main of finding these crippled children and in seeing that they received the best I treatment in the hospitals, and in that regard he thought New Zealand hospitals would compare with those in any part of the world. It often happened that cripples had been left unattended altogether through the criminal neglect of their parents, and it was the work of the society to seek ! out such cases and see that they re- 1 ceived proper attention. ] The speaker paid tribute to the 3 medical committee of the society, and ] pointed out that'it did not usurp the ] function of any other organisation. It provided surgical .boots, and 'artificial j I limbs, besides which it was interested ] in securing education in some instances i where there had been no attempt to i give any kind of education at all. He 1 was glad to see, in that respect, that 1 by an amendment to an Act last ses- i sion the Education Department . was c now able to make teachers available I for the crippled children. The society £ was in touch with the. Department to 1 that end. So, as one international 1 representative had said, they must "keep on keeping on," and at the same s time try to realise that Lord Nuffield"s a splendid gift was only the beginning, f