An 'Accidental' Visit to Daybreak Centre

On a private visit home last weekend to celebrate my mother's 85th birthday I stopped by Ipoh to overnight and was invited by my sister-in-law who works as a volunteer at the New Horizon Society branch based at the Persatuan Daybreak in Pengkalan, Ipoh. NHS is an early intervention centre to help infants and children with delayed mental development and learning difficulties. It was started in 1994 by Malaysian CARE with support of the Ipoh Pastor's Fellowship and churches in Ipoh.

As I was in Daybreak I took the opportunity to look around and was privileged to have Ruth Yates, manager of the vocational training department to explain the work and show me around.

Trainees were doing various kinds of work to learn skills as well as earn an allowance. For example, I saw them inverting gloves, packing party sets, forming socks, knitting embroidery and picking up computing skills. Some trainees were pruning the overhanging creepers on the building. 2 trainees were being evaluated by a fulltime occupational therapist.

Here are some picture I took of their activities.



With Ruth Yates and Cikgu Ab Shukur bin Ab Manan from SMK Seri Ampang, Ipoh, who oversee special students in learning computing skills.

A Learning Disabled Susan Boyle Shows the World

How many of us do not know Susan Boyle? The 47 year old unemployed single lady with a learning disability who sang her way into 2nd place at the Britain's Got Talent 2009 Season 3 shows how we tend to write off people with LD as incapable or untalented. You can read more of Susan HERE and HERE. In her own words, Susan said,

"I had a slight disability, but rather than let that rule my life I had to find my abilities and make the most of them instead," she said. "This feels like a good way of making up for that – a very, very enjoyable way of making up for it as well."

Susan also said she was tormented by classmates and beaten by teachers because of her learning disabilities. "I'm just a wee bit slower at picking things up than other people," she said. "So you get left behind in a system that just wants to rush on, you know? That was what I felt was happening to me."

"There was discipline for the sake of discipline back then," Boyle continued. "But it's all very different now. I think teachers are taught to understand children with learning disabilities a lot better."

I just hope that Malaysians will stand up for people in our midst like Susan and help find the hidden talents in them. If you like to listen to the extraordinary rendition of 'I Dreamed a Dream' by Susan please click the link below.

Dealing with A H1N1 Virus

3 months after the dreaded A H1N1 virus surfaced in Mexico and begun infecting humans, the sourge has made almost 200,000 people worldwide ill and killing over 1,300 of its victims. Although it is pandemic it is not a killer but we have not paid sufficient and serious attention to stop its multiplication. In Malaysia we have recorded almost 1,500 cases of imported and locally transmitted infections, over half of which are now locally transmitted. Of these we have already read of 11 deaths, 3 of which are within the past 24 hours. It is a worrisome trend. Any gathering of people in close proximity can give rise to cross infection and must be grounds for preventive actions. PBSNS has 25 trainees and up to 4 adult trainers and volunteers at any one time. Until today we have had little concern as none of our members have reported sick. Today we have a trainer who was ill, not seriously but he has been advised to self-quarantine and seek medical treatment if he does not recover in a day or two. Some trainees are coughing and the instruction given out is that parents with trainees who are unwell (cough, sneeze, fever) must not send them to the centre. If they do come they will be sent home to minimize exposing the other trainees. Trainers and volunteers who are unwell should inform the centre and be excused. In the worse case scenario, if a large number of the trainees and caregivers are unwell, be it from normal flu or H1N1 virus, the centre will have to be closed temporarily to mitigate the situation. We will watch for further developments and act accordingly.

We pray for the Malaysian Care 30th Anniversary Exhibition next weekend in Petaling Jaya in which we plan to participate, that our staff will be well to attend, that the various participants in the various events will not be afflicted with flu of any sort.

Beautiful Gate Foundation Dedication Service

This afternoon I attended the dedication service of the Beautiful Gate Foundation for the Disabled (Seremban) new building in Mambau, Seremban by the Rev. Boh Che Suan, President of the Chinese Annual Conference of the Methodist Church in Malaysia. The BGF is a community project of CAC for those who are wheelchair bound and trains them in useful trades. They have 6 centres throughout the country.