Tiny care center an oasis for special kids in Malaysia

Standing in a back street area, Tasputra Perkim, a tiny daycare training center, looks lonely and ordinary, but it shelters some special kids who have mental or physical disabilities or both.

Every workday morning, these kids, mostly aged from two to 17 years old, are picked up by the center's vans from their homes, as their parents, including many single mothers, rush to get ready for work.

At the tranquil center, nestled in lush landscape, the kids, some with difficulties walking, talking, and even smiling, are taken care of by around 30 staff workers dedicated to providing them with some quality of life.

Staff also work hard helping the children with rehabilitation exercises, fitting them with special rehabilitation devices, and even taking the kids for spa therapy.

The center was established in November 1987, with its first intake of 10 children on July 4, 1988. It was moved here around 1992, offering children a peaceful place to spend the day.

The hard work over the past two decades has boosted the number of children coming to the center to 52, and the number of staff has also grown to 31, including drivers, cooks, care givers and a gardener.

These special kids do not constitute a big chunk of the Malaysian population, but the center's chairperson, Elahe Norman, told Xinhua there were a quite lot of centers like this in Malaysia.

Elahe, an Iran-born Malaysian, shows her enthusiasm in looking after children with special needs, finding time to stop and talk with almost every child during the interview.

She repeatedly stressed parents must seek proper therapy for children with physical or mental disabilities as early as possible.

Consistent therapy was equally vital because receiving non-regular training would only undo all efforts to help the children, she said.

She firmly believes early training helps children to at least take care of themselves or, in other words, be independent.

Showing Xinhua various facilities and apparatus used to train and strengthen children's muscle and movement coordination, Elahe said such training had delivered positive results over years.

An example was the use of specially designed seats to separate the limbs of children with cerebral damage to prevent their limbs from further deformation.

Elahe proudly shared her wonderful experience of successfully helping a hyperactive boy, who is also her adopted son, to be able to go to school and communicate with others.

Tasputra Perkim, which opens on weekdays from 7 am to 5 pm, offers various therapies, such as aromatherapy, aqua therapy, speech therapy, massage therapy, occupational therapy and music therapy, provided by the center's two therapists and two psychologists.

Situated next to the Royal Selangor Polo Club, qualified children can also go horse riding as part of a hippo therapy program, which is good for their balance.

Elahe said the center's role had extended beyond taking care of needy children, although poor kids living in the vicinity were offered use of the center's pool in return for doing some work forthe center.

As a non-government organization, Tasputra Perkim runs on donations supplemented by an annual grant from the Malaysian government. The grant only covers one month's expenses, Elahe said, but the government allows use of the center's premises for free.

While a few better-off parents paid 200 ringgit (57.14 U.S. dollars) a month to the center, most of them did not, or contributed 30 to 50 ringgit (8.57 to 14.29 U.S. dollars) occasionally, depending on what they could manage, Elahe said.

There is quite a number of children who are from single-mother families, where the household income is usually low.

While monetary aid was welcomed, Elahe hoped everyone in society could contribute to the center in any form, be it free plumbing services, free food, or free daily necessities.

She also welcomed more doctors to volunteer their services because taking the disabled children to hospitals required a lot of effort.

Currently, there are already a few "panel" doctors and a skin specialist from the private sector working closely with the center, offering free medical advice and medication for the children.

The center is also suffering from an acute shortage of speech therapists, who help the children communicate as well as basic functions such as swallowing.

Tasputra Perkim is also considering recruiting volunteer therapists from Malaysia or overseas, either students or fully qualified.

Looking forward, Elahe hopes the center can expand its premises to provide more space in which hyperactive children can exhaust their energy.

On the other hand, Elahe said children with no movement difficulties would take part in daily kindergarten-style education where they develop skills through painting, drawing, nursery rhymes and listening to the teacher.

Source:Xinhua