Schoolmates of St. Xaviers Institution Class of 83.

A few of my ex-schoolmates and I had a gathering on the Wednesday evening when I was attending the DET at Hotel Grand Continental. I have not met some of them since I left shool in 1983. It was a walk down memory lane when we shared the good old days the two years that I studied in St. Xaviers Institution. All of us will be hitting forty next year. It has been more than two decades since I left school. Meeting them again invoked a sense of camaraderie of those times again. It was an invigorating feeling. We are planning another meet up soon, just before the closing of the year. Hopefully more of our ex-schoolmates will be able to join us. Hey guys, it was great meeting you all again after so long. Thank you for taking the trouble and time to meet me. I am looking forward to the next meeting already. See you guys there!

Dato’ Hajjah Shamsiah bte Abdul Rahman, Ketua Pengarah Kebajikan Masyarakat Malaysia,
giving a speech before the opening ceremony of the Disability Equality Training.

Life is continuous learning process. Mine is. There is something new everyday for me to discover. There were several things that I learnt at Disability Equality Training (DET) that I attended from last Saturday till yesterday under the sponsorship of Persatuan Orang-Orang Cacat Anggota Malaysia (POCAM). This Training The Trainer workshop was organized by the Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat Malaysia and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The topic I would have loved to understand more of was Our Rights as Disabled People but not enough time was given to it. Nevertheless, this is one subject that I will be researching extensively in the coming months that will then be applied to the work that I have committed to carry out.

Group photo of all the participants.

About one hundred people from the Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat and NGOs working with people with disabilities attended the one day seminar on Saturday. Twenty five participants stayed back to continue with the training. Fifteen were Welfare Officers from the states in Malaysia and ten were people with disabilities. Of the ten, three were audially impaired and one visually impaired. The other six were physically disabled wheelchair users with two coming from Thailand, representing the Asia-Pacific Development Centre On Disability. The sessions were conducted by Kevin McLaughlin and Lucy McLaughlin, the husband and wife team specializing in DET training from Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Individual presentation session.

DET attempts to change the mindset regarding people with disabilities. It can be a simple thing like using the correct words for describing a disabled person to recognizing their rights as equal members of society. People with disabilities should not be seen as the problem when they are unable to function effectively. Rather, the disenabling environment, prejudices and misconceptions should be rectified and addressed to include and allow equal participation by people with disabilities at all levels.

Group photo of participants together with Kenji Kuno, Chief Advisor for JICA.

Although the philosophy of DET calls for it to be run by people with disabilities, the participation and training of Welfare Officers to become DET trainers would enable them to see the situation from the other side of the fence. I am sure they have been enlightened by the various issues that the ten participants with various impairments have put forth. The pinnacle of the training was the ten-minute presentation by each participant on a DET topic of their choice. I selected Rights, a disability issue that is gaining support from the disability movement in Malaysia and also from the government for their active involvement in organising this training.

I will be attending a Disability Equality Training (DET) organised by the Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat Malaysia (JKMM) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) from November 19 to November 24 at Hotel Grand Continental. The resource person is Kevin McLaughlin, a DET Trainer from the United Kingdom. He is the author of DET training book titled Towards Inclusion: A Widening Access Initiative (2003), Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Belfast. A copy if the book is available here in pdf.

Disability Equality Training (DET) has been developed by the Disability Movement over the last two decades in the United Kingdom. Disability Equality Training (DET) is about raising awareness and examining peoples’ thinking about disability. DET explores solutions that aim to eliminate discrimination and prejudice experienced by disabled people.

It consists of a one-day seminar and five-day training and is fully sponsored by JICA but participants have to pay for their own travelling and accomodation. My accomodation is being funded by the Persatuan Orang-Orang Cacat Anggota Malaysia of which I am a member. Participants of the five-day training are expected to work with their organisations and JICA in implementing DET in Malaysia for the next three years.

Rumah Hospis, Penang.

Relay For Life 2006 will be launched on November 19, 2006 at 4:00pm. The official launching will be done by YB Dato’ Dr Toh Kin Woon and it will be held in Rumah Hospis. Cancer awareness, prevention, early detection and palliative care is one cause that is close to my heart, having lost Mum to leukeamia. I have so often heard from friends who have loved ones or friends suffering from cancer, some succumbing to it.

We can help them fight this by giving them the support they need, whether by donating to causes that help them, or giving our time and effort in assisting organisations that are helping them. Helping the Penang Hospice provide them palliative care is one of the things we can do. We can also show our support by participating in the Relay For Life. This is one event that is now being celebrated worldwide to promote cancer awareness, among others. The following is the blurb from the National Cancer Society of Malaysia, Penang Branch:

Relay For Life arose in 1985 hen a volunteer of the American Cancer Society (ACS), Dr. Gordon Klatt, decided to jog around a “padang” in Tacoma, Washington soon after a friend of his died of cancer. As he ran others joined him, donations were made at the end of the twenty-four hours. Donations to the ACS amounted to USD27,000. This was then adopted by the ACS as a programme to increase awareness of cancer and its control,to celebrate survivors, remember those who had died and to raise funds or the fight against cancer including the research.

Malaysia was the 18th country in the world to join in the American Cancer Society’s signature event when the National Cancer Society of Malaysia, Penang Branch was awarded the license to run Relay For Life. Relay For Life – Fighting Cancer Together was held for the first time in the country at Taman Perbandaran Pulau Pinang in March 2005. Hundreds of people came forward to walk or run through the night in solidarity with those having cancer, to honour the many survivors and remember those who had lost their lives.

Leading to the success of the first event in 2005 the Society will continue to step up efforts to increase public knowledge of cancer – its causes, stepping up prevention or early detection, proper treatment and support care for all cancer patients.

Through this campaign we also hope to reduce the stigma associated with cancer. It will also be an opportunity to highlight the fact that there are many survivors of cancer in the country, which in turn will have a positive impact on the current wholly negative perception of cancer.

From 19 November 2005, we will recruit teams of ten volunteers who will provide information to the public – family and friends, their neighbourhood or the workplace using flyers and brochures about cancer control. At the same time they will solicit funds for the Society to fight cancer. Other approaches will be by holding talks, exhibitions, a series of articles in the press and spots on radio and TV.

Taking on Relay For Life is a huge undertaking for our Society. We look forward to our members, volunteers, supporters and staff to rise to this challenge. Working together we can help reduce the burden of cancer.

The relay event itself will be from 11 – 12 March 2006 at the Taman Perbandaran Pulau Pinang which is being kindly sponsored by the MPPP. This will be a celebration – with team members walking or running around a “padang” over these two days, a walk by survivors of cancer and a remembrance of all those who fought cancer but in vain as the highlights. It will be a family fun event with music, singing, dances, games and, of course food.

For further information, please contact:
National Cancer Society of Malaysia, Penang Branch
A2.27, KOMTAR, 10000 Pulau Pinang.
Tel: 04-261 4140

Hospice-At-Home Programme / Rumah Hospis Pulau Pinang
250-A, Jalan Air Itam, 10460 Pulau Pinang.
Tel: 04-228 4140