AKTIVITI ACS - JULY 2003
Live simply so that
others can simply live
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AKTIVITI ACS - JULY 2003 Live simply so that
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MOUNTAINS AND VALLEYS These past couple of months have been like a rooler coaster here in Asia Community Service.... Some call it the mid-year crisis...... Our work with people with intellectual disabilities and their families is demanding and challenging. Much as we rely on volunteers, we still have to engage full-time staff in order to carry on the work. For the past 6 years, our dedicated and committed team steadily grew to 14 full time staffs members. When we lost 3 staffs in one month, it was like a big blow in the face. One left to further her studies in special education, one left to concentrate on her married life, and one for greener pastures. We would like to thank Joanne, Jamilah and Sakuntala for their years of service with us and wish them well. As a consolation to our discouragement, we received to our pleasant surprise the Occupation Certificate (OC) after a mere 5 months since the completion of building construction of the Balik Pulau project. This certainly restored my confidence in the local diligence and efficiency of the pro bono team of consultants under BYG Architecture. At the same time, now that the building is completed, we will be losing our ACS founding chairman, Prof. Ken Nakazawa as he moves on to Sarawak to begin another similar work for that local community. Prof. Ken has provided the vision and direction for the work here in Penang as well as the source of funding due to his connections with Japan. Nevertheless in a way, Penang's loss will be Sarawak's gain. We are glad to have Ms. Gillian Y.K. Teh, a well-known benevolent in Penang and a fellow ACS director, who has consented to take over the helm as Chairman of the Board of Directors. PERSONNEL Let me take a brief moment to introduce to you the people currently behind Asia Community Service The Members of the Board of Directors are:
The Member of Staff Team are:
The (full-time) Volunteers are:
Please continue to give us your support as we pledge our commitment to carry on the work that is ahead of us. VOLUNTARY HELPERS In view of the current shortage of staff, let us know if you can assist in any way. We are looking for: Toys Doctor Toys that are loaned out through our "Jom!" Mobile Toy Library often come back damaged due to wear and tear. If there is a handyman out there who is good with their hands, we'd appreciate having the toys "doctored" and repaired. It is just a shame to throw them out as some could just have missing pieces replaced, needing mechanical adjustment etc... IT Specialists Can somebody out there help us to maintain our computers in good working order? Some of these computers with special gadgets can be sensitive when "mishandled" by the children. Or perhaps there might be someone who is keen to update our website etc.? Sales Assistant at Functions Sometimes, we are offered opportunities to display our products (candles, batik, woven products, soap etc....) made by the adult members at charity functions. It can become rather taxing on the staff and members to man these booths over the weekend or evening hours. Let us know if you can spare the time to help in this area. We would also appreciate if there are some of you who can help us market our products. Be a Friend Help us enlarge their circle of friends by befriending our adult members i.e. organise or participate in bungalow stays, monthly sports and recreational events etc.... Come and work and play alongside them - they are a great bunch! We ask for your charity, but they would prefer you give them dignity. NEW BUILDING As I have mentioned, we are excited to obtained the O.C. in June for the new building of ACS Stepping Stone Support Centre for Community Living in Pulau Betong, Balik Pulau. We will be busy preparing for the physical move, as well as planning for the opening ceremony. We managed to raise
RM 14,000 from the appeal letters send out in January. Our heartfelt thanks
to those of you who have contributed. However, the amount raised is still
way below our shortfall of Items Required In the meantime, we are still looking for sponsorships in order to equip and furnish the place such as shelves, install ventilator turbines, curtain blinds, lawn turfing etc.... Some of the items that we need are a lawn mower, refrigerator, water cooler, water filter, fax machine, microwave oven, television, potted plants etc.... We want to make the
place presentable and hope to resume operation by August. The new workplace
will have more space to cater for new work such as pottery, batik painting,
silk screen printing, besides what we are doing presently i.e. weaving,
candle and soap making and cake making. Please drop by for a visit at
No. 53 Jalan Baru, Pulau Betong, 11000 Balik Pulau. Telephone number
will remain unchanged at Sandbox for the Kids By the way, ACS First Step Centre in Minden Heights is looking for a sponsor to replace their sandbox which has been spoilt. It would be simply
wonderful if the sandbox can come complete with white sand for the children's
sand play! CHARITY DINNERS Two charity fund-raising dinners are being planned in August and October this year. We are grateful to both organising groups for their efforts and hope that will be able to patronise it.
WORLD PLAY DAY May 28th was set aside for World Play Day celebrations throughout the world. The reason for promoting World Play Day is to stress on the importance of play, amidst the complexities of our lives nowadays. Play is not limited to children as one generally assumes. Play is to engage in recreation; amuse oneself occupy oneself, have fun etc.... It can be in the form of games, sports or even hobbies. All of us have become so involved in our children's education, in our own work and career, in wanting to excel. World Play Day has been set aside precisely for that simple reason to remind us of the need to take time off to play, relax and enjoy each other's company. ACS held an Inter-Centre Sports and Games Gay on May 24th in conjunction with the celebration. More than 70 children and adults with disabilities from a total of 8 various centres and organisations came together with their family members for a series of friendly games held at grounds of S.K. Sri Relau. On the whole, it was a great and fun day and the weather was kind. OUR JOURNEY
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______________________________________________________________________________________________ A Non-Profit
Organisation Providing Services To People With Special |
