One PDK for each state constituency — Fatimah

KOTA SAMARAHAN: Sarawak is aiming to have one Community Rehabilitation Centre ( PDK) in every state constituency.

In revealing this when launching the Mushroom House at PDK Samarahan here yesterday, Minister of Welfare, Women and Community Wellbeing Datuk Fatimah Abdullah said the objective is to provide early training and early intervention to more people with disabilities.

She said the state presently has 49 centres and two more PDKs - one in Nangka, Sibu and Daro, Mukah – would be built this year if they are approved by the National PDK Grant Council during its meeting on March 31.

She also said the number of trainees at the PDKs in the state was 2,348 and those trained at home numbered 639.

Speaking further, she said the state government had appointed medical therapists to give basic training in physical movement, speaking, special education and skills for PDK trainees.

“In 2017 the emphasis is for those with disabilities to be able to be independent in how they move, speak and in their skills,” she said, adding that apart from social skills they were also trained in farming, tailoring, rearing livestock and handicraft through the Economic Empowerment Programme ( EEP) to enable them to earn income.

“A minimum grant of RM18,000 is given to implement this and at the same time the grant is also to pay trainers for tailoring and raw materials to start the economic projects,” she said, adding that PDKs can apply for the grant by forwarding their working papers to Welfare Offices.

Besides that, Fatimah said the state government had appointed eight contract officers to be placed in the PDKs in Kuching, Miri and Sibu zones. She said RM11,052,316 was given out under the grant last year.