Growth of two NGOs
Wheel PowerBy ANTHONY THANASAYAN
TWO organisations which support Malaysians with disabilities held their annual general meeting on the same day last week.
The first was the Independent Living and Training Centre (ILTC) in Rawang, Selangor. About 90 members turned up on May 31 at the society’s premises in Taman Garing.
The focus of the AGM was a food and funfair fund-raiser that ILTC is organising for July 4. It will be held at a school near the centre. There will be several concerts featuring disabled performers.
“There is no point in holding concerts in aid of disabled people if they can’t be part of the occasion,” said ILTC president Francis Siva. “We should stop our culture of putting the handicapped in the spectator’s chair. It’s time we made them stars, too.”
The ILTC will be commemorating its seventh anniversary in September. It currently has 12 physically handicapped residents who receive living skills training which includes computer classes, cooking lessons and personal grooming tips. The services are provided free.
The centre requires RM10,000 a month for its operations. ILTC is looking forward to building a disabled-friendly training centre in Rawang. The centre has, to date, raised 45% of the RM1.5mil needed for the building.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian Animal-Assisted Therapy for the Disabled and Elderly Association (Petpositive) held its fourth AGM last month. The association turned four last Sunday.
The AGM was held at the Petpositive Therapy Centre (PTC) in Jalan Carey, Petaling Jaya.
The PTC was recently fitted with up-to-date facilities for the disabled.
“The elderly will find railings designed to help them walk into our centre through a gentle ramp,” said Petpositive’s assistant secretary Shenaaz Khan. She added that the main attraction of the PTC is a special therapy room for clients of Petpositive and their pets.
There is a corner for marine therapy as well as an indoor fish pond that is accessible to wheelchair users.
PTC provides free services for the elderly and disabled visitors. The centre requires RM5,000 a month for its rental and other expenses.
For more information on ILTC, visit http://www.iltcmalaysia.blogspot.com/or call 03-6093 6292.
To know more about Petpositive, visit http://www.petpositive.blogspot.com/ or call 012-012-220 3146 .
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