아시아 11/10/19 Institute for disabled marks 20 years - Bishop lauds Raphael House for two decades of work with the handicapped

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 Institute for disabled marks 20 years

Bishop lauds Raphael House for two decades of work with the handicapped

Korea
October 21, 2011

A participant playing the saxophone at a ceremony to celebrate the anniversary

An institute serving people with physical and psychological problems has recently celebrated its 20th anniversary.

Auxiliary Bishop Linus Lee Seong-hyo of Suwon presided over a Mass on Wednesday at the Raphael House in Yeoju, where some 700 people turned up to give praise for the institute’s efforts over the last 20 years.

Since 1991, the institute has been offering help to people who are visually handicapped as well as those with psychological, developmental, physical, hearing and speech problems.

During his homily, Bishop Lee lauded the Raphael House for demonstrating the “miracle of love that can be achieved by human hands.”

He deplored the fact that there are still people in a modern society that consider handicapped people as “valueless.”

The institute, which has 93 social workers, takes care of 162 people — 89 of whom reside there.

Many volunteers lend a hand each year providing medical care, or just simply bathing patients, giving them a haircut or cleaning their rooms.

After the Mass, several well-known singers performed, with some of the participants providing the music.

The Raphael House is run with the help of a government subsidy and through the generous support of people from across the country.