Retired Belgian nurse sees herself as "mom with most kids in Taiwan"
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Retired Belgian nurse sees herself as "mom with most kids in Taiwan"
Despite never having had children, Godelieve Franssens, 80, describes herself as "the mother with the most kids in Taiwan," having helped deliver countless babies in Yunlin County over the past half century. Franssens arrived in Taiwan from Belgium in 1967 to work as a nurse in a local hospital. She experienced the baby boom (1970-1980) in Taiwan, during which the hospital set a record of 400 babies delivered in one month, she recalls. "Many of the babies I helped deliver have now had their own grandchildren." Her decades-long dedication to taking care of premature babies and children also won her a Medical Contribution Award in 2004. Although Franssens has retired from the hospital, she is still interested in medical issues. Her focus now is on long-term care for senior citizens and she often offers advice to the hospital on the provision of better care for the elderly.
As a receiver of international medical and health care assistance after the Second World War, Taiwan is grateful for all the help it received in the past, and has since then become a major donor and provider of international humanitarian and medical aid. For more information on Taiwan’s contribution to the global health effort, please visit:
