Of all the five senses, some would say that the most important is vision. Humans perceive up to 80% of all impressions through sight, making it crucial to prevent visual impairment, as well as assist those already affected by blindness.
At UBM Malaysia’s inaugural CSR exhibition – called Kind Malaysia – we spoke with three organizations dedicated to supporting the visually impaired and blind community. The event was created to highlight and promote the importance of kindness between like-minded individuals from non-profits, small-to-medium sized enterprises and large corporations.
St. Nicholas’ Home – Toward a Nation Free of Barriers
Established in 1926, St. Nicholas’ Home is a social concern ministry under the Anglican Diocese of West Malaysia. It is the first organization to serve the blind and visually impaired community in Malaysia.
“Our mission is to work toward a nation free of barriers, where blind and visually impaired persons are not discriminated against, but have the same rights and responsibilities, equal opportunities and quality of life that is available to their sighted peers,” said Daniel Soon, who became executive director of St. Nicholas Home in 2010 and has since introduced many new initiatives.
“We strive to achieve our mission by providing education, training and employment opportunities, as well as a caring environment, to empower the blind and visually impaired to fully participate in society . . . while also helping to promote the prevention of blindness,” continued Mr. Soon.
Services provided at St. Nicholas’ Home include: The Early Intervention Programme and Task St. Nicholas’, rehabilitative training, vocational training (i.e., IT, massage, pastry-making), social support (like senior citizen homes and employment placements), and information resources (e.g., Braille and audio library, Braille transcription service and online learning).
“By participating in Kind Malaysia, we hope to connect with the corporate world to forge long term relationship that will further our mission,” concluded Mr. Soon.
The Malaysian Association for the Blind – Creating Equal Opportunities
Established in 1951 by the Department of Social Welfare, The Malaysian Association for the Blind (MAB) serves the visually impaired by providing services that improve their quality of life. MAB takes care of the general well-being of blind persons in the country by providing them with educational programs; rehabilitation courses; vocational training (like industrial work, computer programming and woodwork); and placement services to help them secure employment and live independently. The association also runs a Braille library, a Braille Publishing Unit, an Information Technology Centre, Resource Centre and a Sale and Production Unit.
MAB also has its own eye hospital to carry out its blindness prevention programs and advises and makes recommendations to the government and relevant authorities on all aspects concerning the visually impaired.
“In recent years, through community-based rehabilitation schemes, MAB has reached out to visually impaired folks in rural areas in order to provide them with rehabilitation services and training programs within their home environment,” said MAB Sales Executive Muhammad Izzat.
In order to accommodate the changing needs, demands and challenges of the modern world, MAB constantly strives to improve and expand its services for the betterment of visually impaired people by introducing new courses and acquiring new equipment. “We always work toward creating greater public awareness concerning the abilities and capabilities of the visually impaired persons under our wings to ensure better integration into the society and quality of life,” added Mr. Izzat.
“By exhibiting in Kind Malaysia, we hope to make our presence and activities known to more potential donors so that we can serve more visual impaired people in Malaysia,” he said. “Just as MAB tries to provide a platform for the blind and visually impaired to function well in society, at the same time, we need society to support us for us to grow.”
National Council for the Blind – Working Together to Help the Blind
In a joint effort to serve the blind and visually impaired, the National Council for the Blind (NCBM), Malaysia was founded in 1984 by five NGOs in the different regions of the country: St. Nicholas’ Home Penang, the Society of the Blind, the Sabah Society for the Blind, the Sarawak Society for the Blind and the Malaysian Association for the Blind,
“The objectives of NCBM include the introduction and progressive improvement of policies and implementation of services governing education, rehabilitation, employment and general welfare of the blind, as well as pertaining to prevention of blindness in Malaysia,” said NCBM Executive Director Moses Choo.
NCBM’s initiatives include coordinating activities of member organizations to facilitate cooperation; organizing forums for consultation and discussion; reviewing progress in the fields of education, braille literacy, vocational training, employment, blindness prevention, and other programs for the blind in Malaysia; and soliciting the support of the government and other agencies for services and programs to be carried out for the socio-economic advancement of the blind.
“We also look into the implementation of software to assist the blind and recently, we are moving toward the use of apps on smart phones. We achieve this by working together between organizations and maximizing all our resources. With this effort, we hope that no blind person is left behind,” explained Mr. Choo.
“Participation in Kind Malaysia will allow us to continue our advocacy work, which is keeping the sighted world informed of the progress of the blind community, with the hope of making society more inclusive. When the blind are accepted into society and allowed to work side-by-side with people of normal vision, there will not be a need to place the blind under welfare services,” he continued.
“Time and time again, the blind have proven that they are able to be successful. They can hold responsible jobs and maintain a family. There are blind people who are lawyers, lecturers at institutions of higher learning, as well as in business and politics, like prominent ex-UK minister David Blunkett,” said Mr. Choo, who is visually impaired himself.
Editor’s Note: Kind Malaysia 2018 took place on 24-25 October 2018 at the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre (MITEC) in partnership with #myWorld by MITEC.
