Let's Give Our Support To SSMH

.... the need to advance and strengthen philanthropy for social investment and social justice is urgently needed for the following reasons:

• Decline in volunteerism and giving
  
• Reduced role of the state as a provider of social services
• Diminishing resources for civil society
• Growing disparities in society
• Severe environmental degradation
• Poor mobilizisation of indigenous philanthropy

There are many charity / help organisations around. Instead of throwing our hands up and saying, how to help so many, ... let's pick one that speaks to us. Don't worry about there being so many. The people of SSMH has written to me and after much deliberation I think its an underfunded help group. Let's all give our support to this. In the meantime I am trying to work with them to come up with a separate fund raising event later in the year.

The Society for the Severely Mentally Handicapped was created not only to care but also to open people's eyes to the conditions of these severely disabled children.

What we do ?

1. To provide day care and education for the severely mentally disabled children and youths, aged 2 to 19 years who belong to one or more of the following categories:-
   • those who are mentally handicapped but can still respond to skill training in the use of legs, hands and jaws;
   • those who are mentally handicapped but can still benefit from systematic habit training;
   • those who are mentally handicapped but can still learn simple communication skills, basic health and safety habits, simple manual skills and perhaps some basic reading and arithmetic skills;
   • those who are mentally handicapped but with additional handicaps such as physical impairment and /or serious personal / behavior problems related to their disabilities.
2. To promote and stimulate research concerning severely mentally handicapped persons and to develop locally appropriate methods of treatment, education and vocational training.
3. To develop better public understanding and awareness, especially among parents and guardians, of the needs of children with severe mental retardation.
4. To raise funds to enable the Society to achieve its objectives.

President Puan Fadillah bt Mohd Yakin

Vice President Puan Noriah bt Abdul Rahman

Hon. Secretary Mr. Richard Leong Peng Fatt

Hon. Treasurer Ms. Hong Ai Chin

Council Members

• Mrs. Evelyn Chan

• Ms. Mercy Koe

• Ms. Jenny Lum

• Ms. Mona Cheong

• Encik Rosly bin Aziz

• Ms. Lee Sow Har

• Mr. Patrick Saw

• Datin Dr. Rehana bt Kassim

External Auditors

Ernst & Young

Administrator

Mr. Tham Keng Seng

The Society for the Severely Mentally Handicapped, Selangor and Wilayah Persekutuan is a voluntary welfare organization established and registered with the Registrar of Societies in 1984 with the objective of providing rehabilitation facilities to children and youths with severe mental and physical (multiple) disabilities in Selangor and the Federal Territory. Following this objective, a Day Care and Training Center was set up in June 1985.

The Center started with a small group of severely mentally disabled children and four staff. Today, the Center has ten Staff comprising an Administrator, a Physiotherapist, an Occupational Therapist, a Speech Therapist, five Teachers and a Housekeeper and an enrolment of 15 children in our Individual Education Program, and 9 teens and young adults in our Living Skills Group.

Over the years the Center has expanded its programs from simple day care with some physical activities to the current program which aims to provide training to maximize the children's functional skills including motor, cognitive, communication, social and self-help skills.

Working with the full-time Staff are volunteers including pediatricians, home makers and representatives from religious and lay organizations - all of whom have dedicated invaluable time and services for the efficient running of the Center.

Currently, rehabilitation services for the severely mentally disabled are being provided by both the Government and private voluntary organizations. However, it must be emphasized that not all centers cater to those with multiple disabilities. Hence the Society is focused on efforts to meet the needs of this category of disabled people.

The Society requires an estimated RM 20,000 monthly to maintain and run the Training Center. Funds for this center comes from donations received from the general public as well as annual government grants and subsidies from the Department of Social Welfare. Funds are also raised through various fundraising activities which are organized several times a year. The generous support of many caring Malaysians has indeed gone a long way to help us make life more meaningful for these children.

UPCOMING EVENT

“Flavours of Bollywood for Charity”

Fundraising Fun & Lunch with the Severely Mentally Handicapped

By

Society for the Severely Mentally Handicapped Selangor & Federal Territory (SSMH) and Trishna Restaurant (Istana Hotel)

Date: 21 July 2011

Time: 12:30pm – 2:30pm

Venue: Trishna Restaurant, B1, Istana Hotel, Jalan Raja Chulan, KL.

Ticket: RM100/person

Type of Food: Moghul Delicacies

How much do SSMH plan to raise in year 2011/2012?

The society plans to raise at least RM1 million over the next 12-15 months to upgrade the training center to create more therapy space for the children. More classrooms means more rooms dedicated to the more ‘advanced children’ to have tailored sessions to improve their living skills.

How can a luncheon fundraising help SSMH?

This is the first fundraising event to kick start the 2011/2012 year efforts.

a) Apart from the monthly operation cost (RM20k/month), the society is keen to raise funds for other needs that supports its’ drive to educate and add to the body of knowledge in regards to the needs of the severely mentally handicapped.

b) One of the activities it hopes to launch this year would be a conference that discusses issues and recent developments in the field of the mentally handicapped.

c) Others include, hopefully, ongoing training, treatment and ad-hoc visits from professionals from other fields like science, dentistry, food technology, ICT and etc to not only bring joy to the children but also create more buzz and awareness to the existence of SSMH and its cause.

What can we expect from the luncheon?

A bit of information and a bit of fun…hopefully, loads of love and help. There will be a short fashion show, sweet delicacies and some handmade giveaways to express thanks and gratitude.

Trishna Restaurant will donate a percentage of sales (at least half) to SSMH. There will also be lucky draw and silent auctions.

www.ssmh.org.my

Being handicapped poses major challenges, not only for the individual but also for their parents and caregivers, health workers and society at large. In 1984, concerned parents initiated the Society for the Severely Mentally Handicapped Selangor & Federal Territory, finding each other in their shared predicament – e.g. the lack of understanding for the support and caring needed by children with severe mental and physical disabilities, as well as the non-existence of suitable facilities for their training and rehabilitation.

There are 20 children attending the SSMH centre of a daily basis and for 3 Saturdays a month. The centre also runs a special session for 10 teens and young adults who are disabled. The Saturday sessions are aimed at providing some social interaction among the teens/young adults and typically consist of a music session and some kind of skill training / development ranging from painting and art and craft to some gardening / making of drinks and simple food like sandwiches. The aim is to provide basic skills for the children to be more independent.

Trishna Restaurant in Brief

www.trishna.com.my

603 – 2142 1575/012 – 382 0412

trishnarestaurant@gmail.com

TRISHNA is Kuala Lumpur's brand new Authentic Northern Indian Restaurant. They serve over 100 dishes, some of which are India's most popular dishes such as Amritsari Fish, Nooraini Kebab, Aloo Tandoori, Palak Paneer and Palak Tandoori, just to name a few. Trishna offers its patrons a great combination of ambience, entertainment, and mouth-watering specialties to heighten your sense. For vegetarians, the Vegetarian Sheekh Kebab is a lovely choice. Patrons can complete their dining experiences with Trishna selection of savory desserts, and the Gulab Jamun is a must try!

In support of SSMH, Trishna is offering a great spread of mouth watering authentic northern Indian cuisine. More than half of the proceeds will be redirected to SSMH to jumpstart their fundraising programmes for year 2011/2012.

For more information, please contact:

1) Fadillah Yakin (SSMH President): 012 2033 920, fadillahyakin@yahoo.com

2) Tham Keng Seng (SSMH Administrator): 012 3418 038

Posted in: SSMH