UK, Dutch pair’s charity project for mobility needs of disabled poor in S’wak
KUCHING: Two long-term Sarawak residents have spent the past 15 years serving the mobility needs of disabled individuals from poor families through their ‘Meeting Needs Rehab Kuching’ charity project.
Susan Walker from the United Kingdom and her friend Caroline Adriaanse from the Netherlands cofounded the charity project in 2006 to provide professional assessment of the mobility needs of disabled people in the state, particularly from rural areas, and offering them assistance.
“We work quite closely with community-based rehabilitation centres (PDK) and the welfare department.
“Sometimes we get referral from the relevant government agencies and we also occasionally check with them on whether are there any disabled individuals who are in need of mobility assistance,” Walker told The Borneo Post recently.
She said in some cases, their team would personally visit the families to better understand the environment of the disabled individuals, and suggest the most practical mobility aid for them such as wheelchair, standing table, buggy, crutches, walking frame, splint, commode, or custom-made orthopedic shoes.
“We are just two individuals behind this charity project. We do not have great resources but we have useful contacts who can be engaged to help the poor families.
“We conduct a proper assessment of the disabled person’s conditions and spread awareness via our social media page to raise money for the assistance,” she added.
Walker remarked their project focuses mainly on addressing the mobility needs of disabled person from poor families, and public requests for cash or housing assistance would be redirected to the other non-governmental organising (NGOs) or government agencies.
Since 2006, she said they had managed to visit over 600 homes and delivered mobility aids to around 360 disabled individuals, as well as arranging and sponsoring therapy, medical intervention and surgical procedures.
Walker added that she had presented a TedX Talk in 2019 on the subject of ‘Meeting Needs Rehab’ aimed at encouraging young people to voluntarily give their time and support to disabled individuals within their community, and “emphasising the joy and blessings we receive from doing whatever we can to help”.
She pointed out they had even travelled to Baram in 2018 as part of their outreach projects, besides holding of a health screening in a Penan village and sourcing for sponsor for solar power to be installed at a primary school.
Meanwhile, a statement informed that the charity project would prepare and distributed food parcels for the poorest families during major festive celebrations, including the upcoming Chinese New Year festival, as well as during the enforcement of the Movement Control Order.
Walker is a speech and language therapist and education kinesiologist who has been residing in Sarawak for over two decades, while Adriaanse is a physiology and occupational therapist living here for about 20 years.
Meeting Needs Rehab is a voluntary community project which focuses primarily on assessing the needs of physically and intellectually-challenged individuals and on sourcing sponsorship to meet the needs they identify. For more information, visit ‘Meeting Needs Rehab Kuching’ on Facebook, or contact Walker (011-10664282) or Adriaanse (0128887332).