A little boost for the hardcore poor and disabled

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TWELVE-YEAR-OLD Ravivarma Ravenendran has never kicked a ball or watched a cartoon on television.

He lost the use of his limbs, his eyes and his ability to speak after a high bout of fever and seizures when he was six months old.

“I have to feed and bathe him, just like a baby. I can’t work so only my husband is working and he earns RM800 a month,” said his mother Vasanthimalar P. Narayanan, 45, from Taman Sri Manja.

Two thumbs up: Fatimah showing the newly installed hand rails in the toilet.

The housewife said she was grateful for the shower chair she received from the office of Taman Medan assemblyman Haniza Talha under the Program Sejahtera Komuniti (Sejati) and the Petaling Jaya City Council.

“We have identified 110 families that would receive aid during the first phase last year,” said Haniza during the handing over ceremony in PJS2, Petaling Jaya.

She said that the programme was aimed at helping three groups of people: the urban poor, senior citizens and the disabled.

A wheelchair user himself, MBPJ councillor Anthony Thanasayan said that a little help goes a long way in trying to make the living conditions better for the disabled.

“We visited Ravivarma in his home and saw that his parents had to bathe him on the floor. The chair itself costs about RM200 but at least now he can be seated when his parents are helping him bathe,” said Thanasayan.

Fatimah Raihan Ayop, 64, from PJS 2 was the other recipient under the scheme and the squatting toilet in her house has been changed to a sitting one with hand rails installed to make it easier for her to use.

“When my grandchildren are here, they would help me get to the toilet but when they’re not here, it’s quite difficult for me,” said Fatimah.

Haniza said the renovation cost for the toilet was RM1,900 and was paid for from the MBPJ fund for the urban poor.

“The MBPJ contributed RM50,000 from their urban poor fund and there would also be allocations from my service centre. We are hoping to get more NGOs and corporate bodies involved in this programme,” said Haniza.

She said they were also looking into having medical house visits for some of the disabled residents.

“We met with a family who stopped taking their disabled daughter to therapy because they would have to take leave,” she said.

Also present at the event was MBPJ town planning director Sharipah Marhaini Syed Ali, who has recently resumed work in the council after a study break.