Open House - 3 Jan 09

As most of you might know by now, we are planning our very first open house on 3 Jan 09. The objectives behind this open house

1. Conducting volunteer recruitment;
2. Creating public awareness of people with intellectual disabilities

The primary focus of the open house is to recruit volunteers to sustain the running of the project! It is well documented that over the years, BKTG has volunteers shortage and if we don't do something drastic now, it might not even be able to sustain its service, not to mentioned providing quality service to the special people!

We will be sending out posters/flyers to be posted in CC with close proximity to TGS. In addition, we will be distributing flyers to Kembangan estate, linking up with CDC. Banners will also be displayed at TGS & near Kembangan MRT. This is to reach out to the public.... (we are targetting another Open House for nearby schools/JCs/Polys in late Feb)

On the day itself, we will invite those who registered with us to visit our project! On the day itself, we will have an opportunity to showcase what a difference volunteers can make to the life of our trainees. Also, to show to the public, the hidden talents of our trainees.

If you have any comments/suggestions for the open house, pls let Choon Seng, Jianyun or Fan Han know.

Thanks.

Like anyone of us, our trainees will feel unwell, will fall sick. Sometimes we have difficulty explaining the pain we are suffering, describing the discomfort to the doctors, we are also potentially ignorant to alot of medical symptoms that warrant early attention and treatment.

What happen to our trainees? Without equipping them with the necessary communication skills, they will only suffer silently, the people around may not be able to pick up the symptoms much early, the doctors will not able to give a more accurate diagnosis. (Luckily, Jee Ban's case was exceptional, was detected and handled appropriately... thanks to the fine work & vigilant of our volunteers.)

Without relevant/sufficient communication skill, our trainees will also not be able to express how to feel, protest what they don't like, manage their emotion as they seek to be understood from those around them.

It may not be easy to build up the communication skills of our trainees & they may not be able to pick up the skills. For those who can pick up at least one form of communication skill, it will help them... for those who can't, its not the end yet. If we are observant and sensitive to their behaviour, any slight change from the norm, we could be able to sense it and study into it carefully =)