of children has, therefore, little chance to build
up its future psychological health and normal-
ity which will be needed for the reconstruc-
tion of the world after the war. To counteract
these deficiencies, war-time care of children
has to be more elaborate and more carefully
thought out than in ordinary times of peace.

On the basis of these convictions our efforts
are directed towards four main achievements:

To repair damage already caused
by war conditions to the bodily and men-
tal health of children. We, therefore,
accept children who have suffered through
bombing, shelter sleeping, indiscriminate
evacuation and billeting. We try to serve
on the one hand as a convalescent home
and on the other, whenever necessary, as
a home for problem children.

To prevent further harm being done
to the children. If small babies have to
be separated from their mothers we try to
keep them in comparative safety within
easy reach of their families. We provide
every facility for visiting so that the baby
can develop an attachment for and knowl-
edge of its mother and be prepared for
a later return to normal family life. For
the older children we make the necessary
provision for ordinary peace-time educa-
tion and, again, to try to preserve the

-12-