International and China Division E-Newsletter (May 2016) Tools
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The Hong Kong Society for Rehabilitation International and China Division E-Newsletter May 2016 We Care . We Share About HKSR | Unsubscribe | Online Donation Seasonal Story How big is your world? The humble conditions of adobes in Hong Kong have been inspiring lots of interior designers. They come up with diverse ideas, trying to optimize the use of limited spaces. I was quite surprised to see the innovative and practical “interior designs” of the small houses scattered on the vast land in the earthquake-stricken area of Ya’an, as it is less crowded here than Hong Kong. Sichuan Province is a disaster-prone area. An earthquake with a Richter scale reading of 7 hit Lushan County of Ya’an City in Sichuan Province, which resulted in about 200 deaths and more than 13,000 injured. Over 250,000 residences were collapsed or were damaged. It could be imagined the situation was even worse for people with disabilities who lived in the mountains. The purpose of our visit was to learn how the adaption proceeded in the reconstructed houses for people with disabilities who were affected by the earthquake, to provide rehabilitation suggestions, assistive devices and environment improvement support that they needed, in order to help them to return to normal living. We came to Yingjing County of Ya’an City this time. It was one of the most devastated area during Ya’an earthquake. A man with disabilities was lying in bed when we entered. Our therapist colleague first did an investigation of the background and made an assessment. The man had a spinal cord injury from a coal mine accident more than 20 years ago. His upper extremities functioned fine, but he was paraplegic and bedridden. We gradually learnt his habits in daily living through talking with him. When asked whether he took care of his personal grooming by himself, the man answered, “Of course!” He then took out the wash set placed in the cabinet next to his bed. There was also a basin of water close to his bed, which was changed every day by his wife. He showed us his backscratcher that he could not only use for scratching his back, but also dressing himself. He also showed us his bedpan placed under his bed which made it possible for him not to walk to the toilet. We asked if there was any entertainment for him. He pulled the rope next to his hand and a radio slowly fell in front of our eyes to the place where the man could reach. He took out the remote control and turned on the TV that stood at the end of his bed. The man said to us, ”Even though I do not go out, I can still know what has been going on around the world. I need to be updated of the outside world!” We realized there were more hidden “secrets” within his reach, which varied from devices for physical exercises to mosquito prevention International and China Division E-Newsletter (May 2016) tools. All these “interior designs” were made by the man, whose whole world was within this small space. His spirit and attitude for life really moved us. 2 In the eyes of we community based rehabilitation staff, the environment of course limited the man’s life. His world would be much wider with suitable assistive devices, adequate home modification, appropriate rehabilitation trainings and basic knowledge of disease prevention. However, because of the earthquake, the man’s house was damaged and was not suitable for home modification. The bumpy ground and narrow passage also limited the access for wheelchairs. He and his wife are now waiting for the new resident to be finished. We hope to provide him assistive devices and suitable home environment in their new resident, so that his world would be opened up more. There are still lots of people with disabilities from the remote areas who live in very limited spaces lacking appropriate community based rehabilitation and environmental support. We believe community based rehabilitation will promote environmental and social improvements, and increase the participation of people with disabilities, so that they can have a life with better quality. Choi Sai Kit Footprints of Volunteers Love and adhere to your work I would like to introduce two volunteers and workshop participants this time. I have the following experience after being on a business trip together with them: 1. I received VIP treatment, as they took the initiative to deal with hotel and restaurant payments on behalf of me, so that I could avoid possible mistakes due to miscommunication. 2. It was always a joy to chat with them after class. It was such a joy to let the tension relieve. Their act of the same paragraph in their own dialects is still echoing in my ears. 3. The training workshop organized by Hong Kong Society for Rehabilitation was excellent! The two volunteers and participants are Wan Jianna (Deputy director of the Rehabilitation Department of Jiangxi Province Nanchang City Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Centre) and Cheng Man (Speech therapist of Chongqing City Children’s Home). The two of them participated in our training workshops several times from 2005-2014. We invited them to our TOT (Training of Trainers) of “Mainland rehabilitation staff training project – assisting children with severe disabilities in mainland”, and now they are already mentors of our project. Even though they have very different characteristics, they both love and adhere to their work. Jianna (in the purple coat) was explaining tothe therapists from other welfare houses Jianna was originally a nurse. She started rehabilitation how to do assessment. work at the Welfare Centre six years ago and has already been promoted to a managing position. She said she learnt from working and most were learnt from our 2 International and China Division E-Newsletter (May 2016) training workshops. Her understanding of rehabilitation was also changed from simply exercising and training to children’s participation, therefore 3 she now actively promote this perspective. Cheng Man is a vigorous lady who is outgoing and speaks fast. She studied special education in the university. In 2005, she participated in our training of speech and communication, and then changed to be a speech therapist. She is one of the few members from the training workshops who still insists on speech training. Cheng Man feels our training workshops are different from the ones organized by other organizations, as our trainers require the trainees to follow closely. There are lots of interaction and communication in class, and the trainees need to listen and think. Therefore, she also pays special attention to the students’ active Cheng Man (in the T-shirt with strips) participation in her own class. was in class showing how to help children with cerebral palsy with When recalling their own teachings, both of them reflected even though chewing and swallowing they tried their best to prepare for the class, the lectures were still not satisfactory enough. However, I believe they are already far better than those experts who lack frontline experience and who can only recite the manuscripts, as these two ladies not only have proficient rehabilitation knowledge and teaching techniques, but also are kind and careful with children. They believe people should think further about rehabilitation, instead of only focusing on what can be learnt from books. What can children with special needs do in the next five or ten years? The quality of living for these children can be improved by considering their needs and adjusting their living routines. Sometimes they are called mothers by children as they are genuinely loved. The reason they stay at the welfare houses with lower salaries compared to working in hospitals is they hope to help these children. Jianna and Cheng Man are grateful for their teachers who not only taught them professional knowledge, but also helped them when they were confused, including Li Yuetang, Zhang Jiayi and Xie Xiuling etc. They also set them great examples of good teachers. I hope these two hard working and lovely ladies will continue to shine in the rehabilitation work and pass on the light. (Alky Leung) Colleague’s story Review of the three years anniversary of Sichuan Yang Kang Rehabilitation Resource Centre Would you think of giant pandas, spicy hotpot or beautiful Jiuzhaigou when we talk about Sichuan? Sichuan is an inland province with a long history, rich natural resources and prosperous economy. It is one of the four basins in China. It was Shu State during the Three Kingdoms time. It was also the rear area battle line during the Anti-Japanese War. 3 International and China Division E-Newsletter (May 2016) I have worked in the social welfare section for ten years. I was working at a humanitarian organization when 512 Wenchuan 4 Earthquake happened in Sichuan in 2008. I received firsthand information of the disaster every day from my colleagues and always hoping I could participate in the work. I rarely had opportunities to work in the mainland due to my jobs. However, as I followed Hong Kong Society for Rehabilitation to Sichuan this time, it still felt like I was visiting the earthquake-stricken area. It had been eight years since the Wenchuan earthquake occurred. Most of the reconstruction and settlement work have been completed and the injured have started their new life. My visit was to the counties that were not directly influenced by the earthquake, yet the rehabilitation needs for local people with disabilities were still considerable. After all, there are at least one billion people (one person in every seven persons) worldwide who have different degrees of disabilities, according to WHO.