tunku: Gala dinner aims to raise RM350,000 to help Down Syndrome kids

Friday, February 13, 2009

Gala dinner aims to raise RM350,000 to help Down Syndrome kids

FROM a distance, a young girl smiles, full of hope and confidence but the receiver of her gracious smile turns away, breaking her fragile heart.
Many children with Down Syndrome face this rejection by members of society but the Down Syndrome Association of Malaysia (PSDM) hopes to change this mindset.
Among its efforts is to build a centre in each state. The centre will provide a platform for parents who have children with Down Syndrome to take the first step and provide their children with the education and skills needed to go out into the world.
However, to do this, the PSDM needs funds to sustain its activities and train its teachers.
In the past, the association had relied on donations but this time, it opted to organise a Gala Dinner in collaboration with Kuala Lumpur Tower this April.
“It is not enough that we provide the children with food and shelter. We must look beyond that,” PSDM patron Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir said.
Mukhriz added that he hoped to emulate western countries where those with Down Syndrome work in the service industries and are widely accepted by the community.
Each centre needs a basic of RM120,000 per year and through the Gala dinner, PSDM hopes to collect RM350,000.
“The money collected will definitely run out fast. So we hope to make long-standing partnerships via this dinner,” Mukhriz said.
PSDM currently has eight homes in Perlis, Kedah, Negri Sembilan, Malacca, Johor, Terengganu and Sarawak.
“Other states may already have homes for those with Down Syndrome children but we are not affiliated with them yet,” Mukhriz said.
PSDM president Prof Dr Sharifah Zainiyah Syed Yahya said that there were 50,000 children with Down Syndrome in Malaysia but people were still afraid to bring them out in the open.
“We have to give these children the opportunity to come out into the world. They are also a part of the society,” she said.
She added that most of the time, parents do not let their children out because of poverty, stigma and cultural differences.
Dr Sharifah Zainiyah also said that the Disabled People’s Act (OKU Act 2008) will help the people a lot but educating them still needed a lot of work.
KL Tower, which has been helping PSDM since it first started in 2001, has pledged RM20,000 to be distributed equally to its homes in Penang and Kuching.
In addition to that, Menara KL will also be donating RM10,000 to each new home opened by the association in the future.
“This is part of our corporate social responsibility and, as the Tower of Hope, we want to help these children become independent, organised and accepted by the people,” KL Tower CEO Datuk Zulkifli Mohamad said.
The gala dinner will be held on April 3 at the Tun Dr Ismail hall at the Putra World Trade Centre.
For details and to book tickets, contact 03-42579818.