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.

Visit by Asia Community Service

A team of 22 staff and members (trainees) from the Stepping Stone Support Centre for Community Living of ACS in Penang visited us yesterday. In the morning they were taken to the ostrich farm in Seremban where they enjoyed riding the birds. Trainees from our centre went along too. We hosted lunch for everybody at the centre after the farm visit followed by a batik art teaching session by Jeffrey Suah of Noble Creations in Seremban for all the trainees while the staff were given a presentation of our work.

ACS also trains learning disabled people like we do but on a different model. Presently they produce art design, batik work and other products for sale and their members are paid salaries. Some of their works are exported. To learn more of their work you can surf to their website.

Updates

Here are 2 pictures taken of our booth at the recent Malaysian Care exhibition at DUMC.

Update 2:
We have finally received our certificate of registration under the Care Centres Act 1993.

Update 3:
The Wesley Methodist Church Seremban gave us space to update the congregation on our work at the PBSNS Sunday on August 16, 2009. The church also set aside the general offerings received that day to our work. We want to record our appreciation to the church and the worshippers for their generosity.

Malaysian Care’s 30th Anniversary Celebration

In conjunction with the above, we are setting up a booth at the venue, Damansara Utama Methodist Church in Section 13, Petaling Jaya. Click HERE for more details and location map. The exhibition will be from the evening of August 14 until lunchtime August 16.

We welcome you to our booth no. 12. It is situated outside the main auditorium's side entrance and opposite the security office.

See you there.

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.

Talk on Nutritional Issues of Special People

We were privileged to be given a talk this morning by Ms Mary Easaw, Senior Manager of the Dietetic and Food Services of the Institut Jantung Negara. On hand to listen are 33 people comprising staff, committee, volunteers, parents, caregivers and trainees. Ms Easaw explained the various problems parents and caregivers face in feeding and providing adequate nutrition to different groups of special people such as those with cerebral palsy, autism, down syndrome and those with cleft lips. She emphasised the need for these people to be given balanced diet supplemented with vitamins. Advices were given on how to deal with people not taking their food well because of emotional, allergy, stresses or associated health problems. She recommended that a food record be kept on the type and amount of food taken each day to enable a dietician to determine causes of imbalance or poor appetite. She spoke bilingually in English and Bahasa Malaysia for the benefit of some parents who are not conversant in English.

At the close of the 2 hours talk and Q&A session we gave Ms Easaw a love gift and a card specially made by the trainees.

Ministry Fair at Wesley Church

As part of her 40 Days of Purpose Campaign, the Wesley Methodist Church of Seremban organized a Ministry Fair this morning at its Youth Centre to help members and guests familiarise with the various church works and to consider joining one or more of them as service to the church and community. As PBSNS is an affiliation to the church we were given the opportunity to set up a booth to publicise our work. It was well attended by members who came not just for the free bookmarks but also take away our partnership brochures.