Helping hand for the spastic

 

FEELING down and out, an ex-student from the Cere-bral Palsy (Spastic) Child-ren's Association of Penang re-cently went to the association's centre where he poured out his problems to the administrator, R. Valliammal. 

Valliammal said the man, in his 40s, told her that he felt useless and that his health was deteriorating. 

“So, I told him this story about a “cracked pot” which I read from a newsletter. It is about a man who had to carry two pots of water up a hill to his house. One of the pots was cracked and thus spilled half its content onto the ground along the way. 

A student sorting out stamps for sale to raise fund for the Cerebral Palsy (Spastic) Children's Association of Penang centre.

“Then, the farmer had an idea. He planted flower plants on his way up the hill and as he walked alongside them, water from the cracked pot spilled onto the plants. As the months went by, the flower plants bloomed beautifully.  

“One day, the cracked pot asked the farmer why it was not thrown away when it was useless unlike the other pot which was not cracked. 

“The farmer told him that water spilled from the pot had helped to nurture the flower plants. The cracked pot smiled and did not feel useless anymore,” Valliammal said. 

She said the ex-student touched her hand and cried when he heard the story, adding that he was so much happier when he walked out of her office that day. 

Valliammal, 57, said it was a joy to see her students grow up and being able to live independently.  

“I am the eldest among four siblings. Perhaps this is why I have always felt motherly to-wards the children here. 

“I had zero knowledge of wor-king with special children when I joined the centre in 1975. There were 80 people applying for one vacancy. After being shortlisted toge-ther with 19 others, I got the job. 

“I think this was due to my fluency in Hokkien. I can also speak in Tamil, Bahasa Malaysia and English. We need to communicate with the children in their mother tongue in order to understand their needs and emotions,” she added.  

The centre currently has a staff of 62 and 175 students aged from one to 19. It offers full-time comprehensive programmes, namely, early intervention, pre-school and primary school classes. 

Two students blowing at balls in the swimming pool as part of their breathing exercise.

For children who are unable to follow the academic classes, they will be taught functional skills such as preparing simple meals, washing up their plates, bathing and dressing up by themselves. 

Supplementary classes include phy-siotherapy, speech therapy and occupational therapy programmes.  

During Teachers Day, both students and teachers will put up a concert while relays and telematches are held during Sports Day. 

There is also the hydrotherapy class which is part of the physiotherapy programme.  

Sports master and teacher P. Joseph said: “The buoyancy from the water relaxes their muscles.  

“Among our water games are kangaroo jump and blowing the ball which inculcate breathing exercises while they learn how to kick the water during the motorboat activity,” he explained. 

The association was set up in 1962 by the Penang Rotary Club with the aim of helping children with cerebral palsy to use their abilities in order to lead full and independent lives. 

It needs RM840,000 annually to run the centre in Jalan Mesjid Negri.  

Valliammal said: “Although the state provides an allocation for the centre, fundraising efforts are still very much needed.” 

She said to be more self-sustainable, the centre planned to open a thrift shop and buy a few buses for transportation purposes. 

“We hope to open the thrift shop in our five existing classrooms. Thus, funds are needed to build an extension building to relocate the classrooms,” she said. 

Valliammal said the centre was also in need of volunteers, especially retired teachers. 

To donate, crossed cheques should be made payable to the Spastic Children’s Association of Penang and send them to 425, Jalan Mesjid Negri, 11600 Penang. 

For details, call 04-6570160/ 6565960.