IT was a beautiful day for those from Beautiful Gate Foundation when they received early Christmas gifts from Santa.
The foundation for the disabled received a total of 35 wheelchairs, seven three-wheeled motorcycles, seven medical cushions, five hearing aids, a computer and cash totalling RM128,000 from funds raised during a recent charity campaign.
Women, Family and Community Development Ministry parliamentary secretary Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun presented the gifts to those in need after launching the Dong Zhi and Christmas 2006 programme at Atria shopping Centre in Petaling Jaya, recently.
“We hope that these gifts would help lessen the burden faced by the disabled and I would like assure them that there is going to be more of such activities to help the disabled lead normal lives,” she said.
Chew said her community service in centre in PJ Utara together with the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry and Beautiful Gate Foundation have organised various activities such as free eye checks, hair cut, Chinese traditional healing and other campaigns to improve the disabled community's quality of life.
Chew (centre) distributing Christmas gifts to the disabled.
KUALA LUMPUR: Any public transportation system for the disabled should be sustainable, said Wanita MCA chief Datuk Dr Ng Yen Yen.
She cited how the public transportation system in Hong Kong allowed the disabled to travel with ease and without charge.
She said the Beautiful Gate Foundation for the Disabled had proposed a pilot public transportation project in Klang Valley for the disabled.
However, the Government wanted such a project to be sustainable, she said.
“We need the community to come out and propose because they know best what their needs are,” she told reporters after giving away Christmas presents to 41 disabled people under the MCA's Project Care Gift of Life programme.
Dr Ng urged the disabled to register with the Welfare Department in their respective states so that the Government could allocate funds accordingly.
“If you don’t register with us, we don’t know how to plan the budget that includes the disabled,” said Dr Ng, who is Deputy Finance Minister.
Wanita MCA helped raise funds for the Gift of Life programme to purchase nine motorised wheelchairs, 12 three-wheel motorcycles and 20 medical cushions worth RM168,000.
The sponsors included Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia Bhd, Metrojaya Bhd, Kuala Lumpur Pavilion Sdn Bhd, Malaysian Charity Draw, Oriental Group of Restaurants and Tanjung Balai Quarry Sdn Bhd.
Dr Ng also witnessed the presentation of a cheque of RM10,000 from Malaysian Charity Draw to Pusat Kebajikan Good Shepherd.
PEOPLE with disabilities should go to the Credit Guarantee Corporation (CGC) if they require help to start their own businesses.
Kelana Jaya MP Loh Seng Kok said there were many avenues, aside from allowances by the Government, offered to the disabled, allowing them the opportunity to lead independent lives.
“The Welfare Department also offers a grant of RM2,700 for members of the disabled community who want to start small businesses,” said Loh during the Gift of Life free blood test activity organised by Beautiful Gate Foundation for the Disabled at Summit USJ shopping centre recently.
According to statistics cited by Loh, the total number of disabled people registered with the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry stands at 170,445 while there are some 22,335 registered in Selangor alone.
Loh (right) having a word with Gan Poh Poh after her blood test while her daughter Chow Swook Lee (left) looks on.
“Those who are not registered should come forward and register themselves because it allows the ministry to plan a budget for their benefit, and it helps people in general to be more cognizant of the needs of the disabled,” said Loh, who pledged five lightweight wheelchairs to the foundation that day.
He said he would raise the issue of allowing disabled motorists vehicle stickers that waived parking fees, request that a certain amount of pasar malam licences be set aside for the disabled seeking to set up stalls, as well as lobby for a more disabled-friendly Kelana Jaya in the next Parliament meeting and monthly Petaling district gathering.
At the blood drive, some 125 disabled people were given free blood tests sponsored by Princess Shoe & Handbag Centre Sdn Bhd.
This is the second time the local shoe and bag company has sponsored the event. In the first event last year, the company sponsored free blood tests for 75 disabled people.
According to Beautiful Gate executive director Sia Siew Chin, the event was part of the Gift of Life campaign that is being held throughout December.
“We want to drive home the importance of health examinations among the disabled, and that blood screening is crucial,” said Sia.
She added that Beautiful Gate was also seeking help in obtaining lightweight and motorised wheelchairs, three-wheel motorcycles, medical cushions and educational scholarships as these helped the disabled to lead more independent lives.
PETALING JAYA: The disabled are encouraged to continue acquiring new skills that will give them a better chance to join the corporate sector.
Datin Seri Wendy Ong, the wife of Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting, called on them to continue acquiring different skills in line with MCA’s lifelong learning programme.
Presenting certificates to 30 disabled people who completed their computer and handphone repair courses recently, she said: “This is a very good start for career advancement, especially those who want to join the corporate sector. Don’t stop here. Continue to learn more.”
CHIT-CHAT: Wendy (third from left) talking with Chan Hwee Lee and other disabled people after the certificate presentation ceremony at Atria Shopping Centre in Petaling Jaya on Saturday.
The recipients from the Beautiful Gate Foundation underwent a four-month handphone-repair course, a three-month Microsoft Excel course, a six-month Microsoft Access course and a three-month Microsoft Office advanced course.
Wendy said the public should learn from the disabled people of the foundation who had helped in recycling campaigns organised by the Housing and Local Government Ministry.
“We know Beautiful Gate through the many recycling campaigns. Despite your disability, you still come forward to help the society. We should all learn from you,” she said.
She urged the corporate sector to come forward to help contribute towards disabled people.
She commended SP Setia Foundation for donating 10 computers to Beautiful Gate, making it possible for the disabled people to acquire IT skills.
IT was a rare sight of the able-bodied walking beside the disabled. Some even took turn to push the wheelchairs, helping the disabled to complete the 1.5km distance while exchanging greetings with the onlookers.
That was what happened recently during the walk and wheelathon at SS2 Cares Carnival.
Some able-bodied participants took turns pushing the wheelchair-bound during the 1.5km wheelathon.
It was held in conjunction with the International Day of Disabled Persons celebrated also recently celebrated.
The event attracted about 100 participants of able-bodied and disabled.
Carnival organising committee chairman Datuk Lim Choon Kin flagged them off at 9am in front of SS2 Urban Park.
Although those on the wheelchairs could propel themselves, the able-bodied participants lent a helping hand in pushing them along the way.
Since it was not a race, all participants took time knowing each other throughout the journey to the finishing line.
Roslan getting his blood pressure checked Lim (standing, left) and MBPJ secretary Zulkepli Ahmad look on.
“The main objective of the event is to boost public awareness on the need of these disabled people.
“We also want to bring the able-bodied and the disabled closer through events like this,” said Lim who is also the Damansara Utama state assemblyman.
He added that it is the first a wheelathon organised together with the walkathon, since the International Day of Disabled Persons has been celebrated at the local authority level for the past two years.
This is the third year the carnival is being held in Petaling Jaya.
Other activities during the half-day carnival are colouring competition for the children, health check and sales of items produced by the handicapped community.
Guests were also entertained by performances by the local community.
In his speech, Petaling Jaya mayor Mohamad Roslan Sakiman congratulated the local community for organising such event.
He added that the city council would continue providing a more accessible environment for the disabled community.
KUALA LUMPUR: In the spirit of the Christmas season, Wanita MCA and the Beautiful Gate Foundation for the Disabled will jointly organise a fundraising event – Gift of Life.
“The Gift of Life is in line with Wanita MCA’s Project Care led by our movement chief Datuk Dr Ng Yen Yen,” said Datin Rosalind Lee, who is the organising committee chairman.
Lee said the best present for the disabled was the gift of mobility – such as a three-wheeled motorcycle, motorised wheelchair or detachable wheelchair.
Based on statistics from the Welfare Department, she said there were about 260,000 disabled nationwide but only 17,000 had registered with the department.
“We have to be sensitive towards the disabled and their needs,” she said.
Urging the public to be generous, Lee said any contribution would be meaningful, as the money would be used to present the disabled with a gift of kindness that would help transform their lifestyle.
“These gifts provide mobility to enable them to secure a job, improve their life condition and create opportunities for them to lead an independent life.
“And it will help them develop their self-esteem and strengthen their willpower to live,” she told a press conference at Wisma MCA here.
Lee said there would be a Gift of Life presentation on Dec 14 to give out Christmas presents to the disabled.
All donations are tax exempt.
For more information on the event, contact the foundation at 03-7873 6579, 019-219 8440 or Wanita MCA at 03-2161 8044 ext 105.
Being born with a disability is bad enough, but when one is instantly crippled by an illness or accident, the effect can be quite traumatic. RASHVINJEET S. BEDI discovers how four such persons got back on their feet.
WHENEVER Lee Pei Sun feels lonely, she takes a picture of her two sons from her wallet and looks at it. Divorced three years ago, Lee gets to see them once a week.
Lee, 28, suffers from Spinocerebellar Ataxia (SCA), a condition that progressively results in unsteady motion of the body. The disease began to attack her body after the birth of her first son, and now she moves about in a wheelchair and her speech is slurred.
Phua Gin Chu, 24, was one month away from getting her taekwondo black belt when she was admitted to hospital with excruciating back pain. Doctors could not determine the cause of her pain, which left her paralysed from waist down.
Krishnan Sivasankaran, 32, lost one leg in a motorcycle accident. The former security guard used to play in goal for a local football team.
COPING WITH CHANGES: Life is not the same anymore for (from left) Phua, Lim and Lee of The Beautiful Gate Foundation.
This is the world of the instant disabled, where a person loses his or her ability to perform routine tasks in one moment. Accepting that disability is not the easiest of tasks.
“I was very low on self esteem and confidence. Even when my friends came to visit, I would not see them. I preferred to cry alone in my room,” said Phua who lost her ability to walk when she was 16. Phua, who is from Sekinchan, was a prefect, played handball and was active in extra-curricular activities.
Depression set in and Phua slit her wrist. Fortunately, she was sent to the hospital in time.
“The doctor told me there were others who were worse off than me. I was told some of them still could draw with their mouth,” she recalled.
Phua, however, did not want to put herself into anyone else’s shoes. “I felt people’s love and support, but I couldn’t accept it. I didn’t want to be pitied,” she said.
After the divorce, Lee went to live at the Beautiful Gate Foundation in Petaling Jaya, a home for disabled people, at the recommendation of a friend. That was three years ago. Back then, any mention of her husband and two sons would set her crying. She also felt like ending her life.
“Although I felt dead inside, committing suicide was not an option because of my sons,” she said.
Lim Kee Loon, 24, was involved in a motorcycle accident in Kuala Lumpur that fractured his neck, ribs, hands and legs. His spinal cord was damaged as well and this affected everything from the chest down. He spent six months in the hospital before going back to his hometown of Kuantan, Pahang.
He occupied his time by watching television, going to hospital and surfing the Internet. He was able to type, although at a very slow pace.
While Lim was positive, his parents could not accept his disability.
“My mother cried every day. It was as if she had lost her son,” said Lim who was at that time two months away from completing his diploma in automotive engineering.
Lim could not bear to see his parents being stressed out and decided to go and live at Beautiful Gate.
“My parents were old anyway and I had to think of the future. I had to learn to be independent,” he said.
As can be seen from these life stories, it takes a while for the instant disabled to accept their condition. This has a lot to do with willpower and learning from others.
Phua’s life changed when she read a book by Taiwanese writer Xing Lin Zi who suffered from rheumatoid arthritis and had been confined to a wheelchair since she was 12.
“The book gave me confidence and inspiration. It was then that I realised life is important,” she said.
With encouragement from her headmaster and teachers, Phua went back to school. With time on her hands, Phua could concentrate on her studies and eventually scored a grade one in the SPM examinations.
She went on to get an advanced diploma in computing in a local college, whereas some of her peers dropped out. Phua also represented the country in table tennis at the 2002 Manchester and 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games.
“Some of my friends tell me that I encourage them. Life is a struggle till the end. We are learning all the time,” said Phua who heads the employment department at Beautiful Gate.
The ever-smiling Lee, meanwhile, has found a place to call home.
“I found God’s love here. I smile a lot because it brings warmth,” said Lee who reads a lot now.
Lim is doing a course in multimedia and hopes to be a programmer when he finishes.
Krishnan did that by turning to sports to occupy his time. He spent two depressed years at home before meeting disabled athlete Law King Khiew who taught him to exercise.
Krishnan took up powerlifting and finished fourth at the 2002 Busan Fespic Games with a personal best bench press of 90kg.
“Your body might be disabled, but your mind is not. Go out and meet other people. Don’t let it (mind) be disabled,” said Krishnan.
He also enrolled himself in an electronics course at the Rehabilitation and Industrial Training Centre (PLPP) in Bangi.
Krishnan now repairs wheelchairs for a living and he enjoys his work, which requires him to travel around the Klang Valley.
The International Day of Disabled Persons (IDD)
TODAY is International Day of Disabled Persons. Observed since 1990, this day promotes an understanding of disability issues and mobilises support for the dignity, rights and the well being of a disabled person. It also seeks to increase awareness of gains to be derived from the integration of persons with disabilities in every aspect of political, social, economic and cultural life.
Communities all over the world focus on measures to implement international norms and standards related to disabled persons.
This year’s theme for the IDD is “E-Accessibility”. Through its efforts, and collaboration with others, the United Nations aims to raise appreciation among Governments, private entities and the public of the significant benefits to disabled persons and societies when they are empowered with increased access to information technology.
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