Taiwan Blackfoot Disease Socio-Medical Service Memorial House, Medical history museum in Beimen District, Tainan, Taiwan.
The Taiwan Blackfoot Disease Socio-Medical Service Memorial House is a museum in Tainan that documents a poisoning illness that affected residents in the region for decades. The collection displays photographs, personal stories, and medical records that illustrate how arsenic exposure damaged the health of many people in southern Taiwan.
A physician began treating patients free of charge at this clinic in 1957, focusing on a disease caused by naturally occurring arsenic in the water supply. The facility became a place where medical care and community support converged to help people cope with a crisis that had affected their health for generations.
The memorial reflects how the community organized itself to respond to a serious health crisis and how faith-based institutions became central to care. Walking through the exhibits, you see how neighbors supported each other and how people found strength together during hardship.
The site is located in a rural area and is easier to reach with local guidance or assistance from residents. It is best to visit on a weekend when guided tours are regularly offered and there is more time to explore the different rooms and structures on the grounds.
The grounds preserve old workshops and outbuildings, including a workspace where straw materials were processed, showing how the community created solutions with limited resources. These structures tell a story of improvisation and self-help during a time of great hardship.
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