Educating young blind children for a better future

Life changed for Syirah when she was referred to Early Intervention Programme (EIP) at St. Nicholas’ Home on early of January this year.

Syirah, aged 2 was diagnosed with Leber Congenital Amourosis. It is a rare inherited eye disease that appears at birth or in the first few months of life. Syirah’s mother noticed that at the age of 4 months, her little girl’s eyes were not focusing  when an object was placed in front of her nor reacting to light stimulus. Syirah was immediately brought to the ophthalmologist in Penang General Hospital for medical check-up.

Syirah’s mother was the primary care giver for her and this closeness mean that there is a very strong bond between them. Syirah will not go anywhere without her mother by her side. She is still dependent to her mother for all her daily living activities such as dressing and toileting. Syirah’s mother as her all-time best friend as she understand Syirah’s needs.

Syirah initially has difficulty socialising as she is so clingy to her mother. However, after a few months in this programme, Syirah now loves to greet her teachers as well sing along with them. She is able to socialise with people and adapt accordingly with the new environment. 

Even though Syirah is still having some difficulty in communication and slurred speech, but she is showing some improvement over time. Her teachers are doing their best to improve some basic skills. For example, from almost no fine motor skill, today she is capable to assemble and disassemble Lego blocks. 

For children like Syirah and their family, your donation is the reason they have some hope for the future.

Today let me tell you something about this adorable girl called Umi.

Umi is 4 years old now but joined the Early Intervention Program when she was 1.  Born with bilateral eye corneal opacity, she is considered as low vision since she has some light perception.

For children born with her eye condition it is especially difficult to differenciate colours, but nonetheless she is able to categorate bright colours together. When she’s given the task to combine the same bright colours she can master it with no hesitation.

Whenever you see someone talking about Umi, you can see a wide and sincere smile on their face. Sometimes the teachers go to a supermarket with her just around her house to buy her the sweets she wants. She even gets to pay the cashier.

Apart from being described as a fast learner and extremely independent, we can say that she is extremely social. She likes to mix with other children of her age, her family and outsiders.  She is even enrolled in PDK (Pemulihan Dalem Komuniti) Bandar Baharu, a pre-school for children with disabilities. 

Nonetheless she still depends on full support of her mother to assist her to carry out daily living activities, which is why we’re happy to see the progress Umi has made during the past few years.

We’re happy to see that she’s benefiting so much from the EIP program and we’re looking forward to see her bloom even more and continue to become the best version of herself.