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SCMP Reporter

THE abandoned children of Kwong Wah Hospital are beginning to respond to the first touches of love, thanks to the attention of specialists and readers of the Sunday Morning Post.

   One of the handicapped children, Baby Chan, is 21/2 years old but only the size of a nine-month-old infant because of a muscle-wasting condition. But she is now smiling and reacting to the volunteers' devotion. Previously, she had lain listlessly in her cot, not even bothering to cry.

  And instead of the bare metal bars of a few weeks ago, her cot is now decorated with musical mobiles and cuddly toys, mostly donated by the volunteers.

  ''The children are definitely more responsive,'' said Dr Jackson Ho Che-shun, consultant paediatrician at the hospital, as he watched the child smiling at a helper.

  For as long as she was held, the child's eyes did not leave the woman's face.

  ''They are more alert. I think they will benefit from people holding them and talking with them. I think she definitely likes the attention,'' he said.

  The handicapped children have spent up to three years living in the confines of the hospital room, having been abandoned by parents who felt unable to cope with their disabilities. Because of staff shortages at the Kowloon hospital, nursing staff were able to offer only basic nutritional and medical care.

  Six weeks after their plight was highlighted in the Sunday Morning Post, one of the children was moved into a specialist home after his paperwork was speeded up.

  According to hospital staff, another young boy is due to move to the Caritas Medical Centre this week, following his parents' decision to sign his release forms.

  The children remaining at the hospital cannot be moved until their parents sign release forms - something many parents will not do as it involves either signing away all their rights or accepting responsibility for the children at weekends, which they are unwilling or unable to do. The children were not visited by their parents.

  Yesterday, a physiotherapist who visited the hospital warned volunteers that the lack of attention in the past for the remaining children meant that the extra care might initially make them nervous.

  ''These children have not had much handling when you compare them with a child at home with a mother, so they're not used to being picked up and held,'' said Jane Climas, from the Matilda Child Development Centre.

  ''You have to take a softly, softly approach.''   She spent two hours teaching the volunteers how to use coloured fabrics, noises and textures to stimulate the children's senses, and how to gently massage joints that may have become stiff due to the long periods spent in their cots.

  But she added that the most important thing for the children, who have received little in the way of love and attention, was simply human touch.

  ''Even if you can't stimulate their development, just the fact that they are being held and cuddled and talked to will do them nothing but good.

  ''It's a shame that the situation is as it is,'' she added, referring to the fact that the children were forced to live in the hospital. ''But I think it's wonderful that these people are using up their own time to help these children. It will make such a difference.''   Sandy Chan, who volunteered after reading about the children's plight in the Sunday Morning Post, said getting a response from the children was ''really good''.

  She and the other volunteers take turns to visit the children, ensuring that each gets at least an hour's attention six days a week.

  ''You can't expect them to respond much,'' she said, unwrapping a musical toy she had brought.

  ''But when they smiled at me the last time I came it was really lovely.'' Those interested in offering help or money should contact the Kwong Wah Hospital on 332 2311 



Abandoned babies respond to first touches of love respond touches of love