Friday, September 23, 2005

Movie treat for 'angels' and friends

By SUSAN TAM

SOME 200 volunteers and disabled participants in the Be an Angel Campaign attended a free screening at the IMAX Theatre at Berjaya Times Square on Sunday. It was the last event to be held before the campaign concludes next week.

The group was treated to a screening of a 3D documentary, T-Rex. The audience, which also included groups of children, wore special 3D glasses to appreciate the special effects in the one-hour show.

Screams and squeals of delight were heard during the presentation as children reacted to the images of dinosaurs, which appeared to emerge from the screen.

The group included participants from Beautiful Gate Foundation for the Disabled’s branches in Kepong and Petaling Jaya, the Damai Disabled Persons Association of Selangor and Federal Territory, Pusat Majudiri ‘Y’ for the Deaf under YMCA Kuala Lumpur and various welfare homes in the Klang Valley.

Participants in the 'Be an Angel Campaign' posing for a photograph after the free screening of the 3D documentary 'T-Rex'
Participants in the 'Be an Angel Campaign' posing for a photograph after the free screening of the 3D documentary 'T-Rex'.

Supporting the campaign is Lions Club KL (West), which contributed RM5,000 for the organisation of campaign activities.

Club president David Yoong said the club would continue to support such events as they helped foster better relations between the disabled and able-bodied.

This campaign, which began last November, was put together by Beauti-ful Gate, charity platform Hati.org.my and the Methodist Youth Fellowship.

Hati.org.my representative Kok Hee Poh said the campaign had succeeded in instilling volunteerism and creating awareness among the able-bodied of the needs of the disabled community.

“We are proud of the hard work put in by the volunteers and the co-operation between our ‘angels’ and their disabled friends, and plan to have a similar campaign next year,” he added.

Among the many events organised since the inception of the campaign last year were a sports carnival and visits to welfare homes and orphanages.

Earlier this year, the volunteers attended a camp at Universiti Kebangsa-an Malaysia to learn about volunteerism and get tips on how to work with the disabled.

Phase Two of the campaign, which was called “Angels-at-Work,” required volunteers to sign up to work 15 hours over a period of two months in any organisation of their choice.

Upon completion of the 15 hours, the volunteers will be given their “wings” and a certificate to acknowledge their contributions. This will be done at a graduation ceremony to be held in Summit USJ.

Source : MIND

Thursday, September 8, 2005

調高福利援助金

老人院殘障中心讚好

(八打靈再也訊)老人院及殘障中心對政府調高福利援助金大表贊成。

受訪者表示,在提昇福利援助金的同時,也能提昇其他方面的福利,諸如醫藥、教育等。

謝秀貞:調整輔助金是好事

美門殘障關懷中心負責人謝秀貞表示,殘障人士目前可申請的福利援助金可分為2種,即殘障工作津貼(Elaun Pekerja Cacat)和特別援助金(Bantuan Khas)。

她說,中心替部份有工作的成員申請殘障工作津貼,目前每名申請此津貼的成員可享有200令吉的津貼。

她表示,政府調整福利輔助金對弱勢團體來說,的確是件好事,尤其目前的特別援助金每個月只有80或90令吉。

“以大馬的生活費來計算,數十令吉的確無法真正的解困。”

她提到,政府除了提高福利援助金之外,也可把現有學校改為無障礙學校,塑造一個以殘障人士福利為基礎的社會。

她說,若殘障人士受教育,日后就不必依賴政府的援助金,反而可貢獻社會,達至善用人力資源的社會。

彭文華:關懷弱勢團體

智障人士訓練中心主席彭文華表示,援助金在約莫2年前,從原有的100令吉提昇至200令吉,現在再度調整,證明政府已經開始關懷弱勢團體,是好的開始。

他說,凡是中心聘請的員工,中心都會為他們申請援助金。

他指出,政府同時應多推行醒覺運動,喚醒社會人士關懷弱勢團體。

“政府也可協助智障人士尋找工作,智障人士可勝任簡單的工作。”

他表示,政府也可考慮把一些交由承包公司承包的簡單工作交給弱勢團體進行。

張胡坤:應提昇醫療設施

恩惠老人院的張胡坤牧師則表示,雖然不曉得援助金將調高多少,但至少有作出調整。

“目前,政府所給予的援助金為每位老人每個月135令吉,但事實上每位老人每個月的開銷至少需要270令吉。”

他認為,政府在這方面尚算不錯,照顧到有需要的人士。

他希望,政府除了在調高援助金以外,也能提昇對老人及孤兒等有需要幫助的人士,多方面的設施如醫療設施等。

謝順祥:減輕老人院開支

安邦老人院負責人謝順祥表示,政府調高福利援助金固然是件好事。

“這就好像能夠獲得加薪一樣,當然值得高興。”

他說,這樣至少可以減輕老人院在經濟上的開支。

他表示,一般上老人院將收到書面通知以領取福利援助金。 (星洲日報‧2005/09/08)

摘自:http://www.sinchew-i.com/article.phtml?artid=200509072444&data=scnews&spid=187603