Japan International Cooperation Agency – Page 4 – Peter Tan

Disability Equality Training For JOCV And Malaysian Counterparts

Thirty members from the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers and their Malaysian counterparts from various disability-related governmental agencies participated in a one-day Disability Equality Training (DET) at the Pusat Latihan Perindustrian dan Pemulihan Bangi (PLPP Bangi) last Thursday. The workshop was facilitated by Dr. Kenji Kuno. I played the supporting role as a co-facilitator.

Dr. Kenji Kuno facilitating the Disability Equality Training (DET) for JOCV members and Malaysian counterparts

Dr. Kenji Kuno facilitating Disability Equality Training (DET) for JOCV members at PLPP Bangi.
Photo by Wuan.

The two main components in DET are the Social Model of Disability and Action Planning. Social Model fosters the understanding of the causes of disability while Action Planning foments the removal those causes to enable full participation of disabled people in society.

Disability Equality Training (DET) Workshop in session.
Photo by Wuan.

I am glad to say that the participants left the workshop with a good knowledge on how they can remove disabling factors that they encounter in the course of their work. I was thinking would it not be excellent if the Malaysian government adopts DET as a standard course in the civil service. This will definitely expand the understanding of disability issue in the general population that will wishfully lead to a more inclusive society.

Group photo with JOCV members after the Disability Equality Training (DET) Workshop.
Photo by Wuan.

Busy And Tired

This blog has not been updated for a week now. Firstly, I have been asking for advice at the CareCure forum on some aspects of the TiLite ZRA Series 2 that I was not sure about apart from scouring for more information from the Internet. I am almost done with this pending quotation for shipping and some extra parts that I am ordering together with the wheelchair.

Secondly, I am currently attending the 1st Regional Senior Disability Equality Training (DET) Trainers’ Training since Monday. There are four of us undergoing training as facilitators for DET TOT, namely Ms. Saowalak Thongkuay and Mr. Sawang Srisom from Thailand and Ms. Eunice Marie Gato-Factor from Philippines. This course is conducted by Dr. Kenji Kuno of the Japan International Cooperation Agency Malaysia (JICA).

Running concurrently with the course beginning today is the 2nd Regional Training of Trainers on Disability Equality Training (DET) where the four of us double up as co-facilitators with Dr. Kuno for sixteen participants from the Asia Pacific region. These two courses are as interesting as they are tiring as we have been attending full-day sessions that will continue until next Friday. Until then, updates will be irregular.

Independent Living Course At Institut Sosial Malaysia

The Institut Sosial Malaysia (ISM) under the recommendation of Dr. Kenji Kuno of the Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat Malaysia and Japan International Cooperation Agency invited me to speak on Independent Living for Disabled Persons (Kursus Kehidupan Berdikari bagi OKU – Sesi 1/2010) on Tuesday. The ISM conducts training for civil servants and social workers on matters related to social development.

Peter Tan conducting Independent Living course at Institut Sosial Malaysia.

The main office block and seminar rooms were located atop a hillock just at KM6 of the Lebuhraya Kuala Lumpur – Seremban. It commands a panaromic view of Bandar Tasik Selatan and the surrounding areas. About 20 social welfare officers and social workers participated in the four hour course spread over two sessions.The first session was Pengenalan Kepada Kehidupan Berdikari (Introduction to Independent Living) and the second on History of Independent Living.

Peter Tan sharing the history of Independent Living with participants at Institut Sosial Malaysia.

The practice of Independent Living was new to most of the participants as they were unaware that severely disabled persons too can live independently if given the right support and opportunities. After the sessions ended, I could feel that they got a pretty good grasp of what Independent Living is all about, especially how it is practiced in other countries such as the USA, Sweden and Japan, among others. And I need to brush up on my Bahasa Malaysia. There were more than a couple of times when I could not find the correct words to use and had to be “rescued” by the participants.