Belgian nun leaves Taiwan after 50 years

A Belgian nun who has been devoted to helping people in Taiwan for more than 50 years has said her goodbyes as she prepares to retire and leave the island that she describes as home, Focus Taiwan reports. "Belgium is my birthplace, but Taiwan is my home," said Hilda Van Hoolst, a Catholic nun of the Immaculate Heart of Mary missionary who came to Taiwan in 1961 and has worked to help the poor, the sick and the needy. Due to health problems, Sister Hoolst, 79, will retire and return to Belgium on Monday. The Taipei-based Taiwan Catholic Foundation of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementia, where Hoolst now serves, held a farewell party for her today, with National Immigration Agency head Hsieh Li-kung and his deputy among the government officials who attended. President Ma Ying-jeou and Taipei mayor Hau Lung-bin were not there but sent messages of thanks for Hoolst's contribution. "I'm reluctant to leave, but I really don't want to bother anyone to take care of me," she said, adding that she would retire to a monastery in her homeland for the rest of her life. "After such a long time, I have the impression that people here like us very much," she said in Mandarin, which she has picked up over the years. "We came here not because of money, but because of love. We've devoted our lives and given our hearts to the people here," she told CNA with tears in her eyes. During her 52 years of service in Taiwan, Hoolst helped to take care of premature babies and assisted at a hospital, according to the foundation. Since 2001, she has been devoted to caring for patients with dementia or Alzheimer's disease. "Time flies, but all I can remember is the joy and happiness I have had here," she said.