BEING a disabled, Lee Yew Hoe never expected to have the ability to lend a hand to others, especially to those who share the same faith as he does.
“It is the most joyous thing I have ever had, I’m blessed with the strength to guide and help others even though I’m wheelchair-bound,” said the 34-year-old Beautiful Gate Foundation For The Disabled coordinator based in Klang.
Lee (left) and Tan (right) look on as one of the centre’s residents carries out skills training
Growing up in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan, Lee received much care and love from his parents and siblings, as they always tried to be by his side.
Lee said his family and friends never treated him as disabled and always encouraged and guided him to live a normal life, including doing household chores and attending normal schools.
After leaving high school, Lee felt it was the time for him to be independent and ventured to Petaling Jaya to work as a clerk in a training company.
In 2004, he met Sia Siew Chin, the founder of the foundation, in a Methodist Church in Kuala Lumpur, where he was invited to join the foundation and help out at the main centre located in Petaling Jaya.
“I agreed right away because it was a more meaningful task.
“Besides, opening my heart to more people by meeting more friends, this job has given me great satisfaction,” he said.
A lot of things for the new centre has been made possible through the help of generous sponsors.
Lee said he was posted to a new centre in Taman Chi Liung, Klang, the sixth centre after Petaling Jaya (Selangor), Kepong (Kuala Lumpur), Kampar (Perak), Seremban (Negeri Sembilan) and Malacca for the physically disabled in the area.
He was assigned the task of coordinator to take care of the welfare of the disabled staying at the new centre, playing the role of counsellor and supporter.
“It is great to see them able to face the world again. Some have learnt to live independently and have gotten jobs and even started families of their own,” said Lee.
Lee added that the centre in Klang was officially opened on Oct 11, explaining that those interested in joining the foundation’s programmes were welcome, with priority given to Klang residents.
Tan Auw Hock, the special assistant to Klang MP Datin Paduka Dr Tan Yee Kew, who was involved in the coordinating and setting up of the centre, said he had received a numerous calls from people who were interested in the training provided by the foundation.
“I decided to approach Beautiful Gate as it is known for providing training in surviving skills and self-development skills for the disabled,” he said.
It took him two months to plan and look for donors for the project.
“Fortunately, there are many kind-hearted and helpful people in town. We managed to get hold of the premises, contractors for renovation works and others to help us without charges,” he said.
The new centre is located in a double-storey corner house with five bedrooms at Lebuh Turi, Taman Chi Liung.
The centre can house 15 people and accommodate 30 people for daytime training programmes, including computer skills training.
The foundation also appealed for public donations, Lee said, adding that the centre also needed a van to ferry the disabled ones and volunteers, said Lee.
“I hope the members of public could help us and involve themselves voluntarily,” he said.
The public can also donate old newspapers, cardboard, plastic bottles and metals to the centre.
For donations, contact the centre at 03-3373 6094 or 016-318 9615.
MALACCA: Ten-year-old wheelchair-bound Poon Pau Yee had to stop schooling last year as there was no one to send her to school.
Moreover, her school did not have facilities for the disabled.
Her father, an express bus driver, only sees her at home in Port Dickson a few times in a month due to his job commitment while her two elder siblings attend school on week days and do part-time jobs on weekends.
“My best friend is the television set at home,” said Pau Yee, who became wheelchair bound after she was struck by high fever at the age of five. Her mother had since passed away.
Low teaching Pau Yee how to use a computer at the Beautiful Gate Foundation centre in Taman Merdeka Jaya, Malacca, recently.
It was a neighbour who brought food for her regularly.
However, Pau Yee’s gloomy days ended when her aunt from Bukit Beruang here told her father about the Beautiful Gate Foundation's centre for the disabled in Malacca.
Pau Yee has been living at the centre in Taman Merdeka Jaya since April.
She now looks toward attending school again in January.
“I’m happy to be here knowing that someone will be sending me to school soon,” said Pau Yee, who is tutored by Janet Low and Mark Chew, a disabled couple who work for the foundation.
Pau Yee will attend primary six at SK Gangsa, a special children's school at Durian Tunggal in January.
Beautiful Gate Foundation here offers training on survival for the disabled, self-development skills, and computer and bakery classes at its single-storey terrace house.
It is the fifth centre after Petaling Jaya (Selangor), Kepong (Kuala Lumpur), Kampar (Perak) and Seremban (Negri Sembilan) set up by the foundation.
Foundation chairman Low How Juan said the Malacca centre needed volunteers and drivers to help in transporting the disabled in a van and also a computer expert to conduct computer classes at the centre.
“A few students from Multimedia University have volunteered to give computer lessons.
“But we cannot rely on them totally as they have classes to attend,” said Low.
Depending on public donations, the centre plans to build a motorised gate and a roof for the vacant land beside the single-storey terrace house for outdoor activities.
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