Since the day Z.Y. was born, he and his parents faced many difficulties due to his poor vision and inborn heart condition. Although Z.Y. eventually figured out how to work around his poor vision for his everyday life and attended school at a school for visually impaired students, but he always needed a family member with him to guide him.  This resulted in a very reliant Z.Y. who always depended on help from people around him.

Z.Y. soon grew up into his teenage years. At this age, most teenagers would be spending time with friends, having fun and staying outdoors for activities, however, due to his poor vision and heart condition, he could hardly mingle with his peers at Ahmad Ibrahim Secondary School, which offered special Braille systems for visually challenged students. To make matters worse, at the tender age of 13, Z.Y. was diagnosed as being diabetic and required insulin injections daily which was beyond his own ability to administer as he could not see and had problem handling the medication, needles, alcohol swaps, and other required materials for the jab.

His health condition suffered another major setback when he was diagnosed with a severe curved spine at 14 years old. It was so bad that Z.Y. had to walk with his body slanted to one side. He eventually had to undergo an operation the same year to correct it by attaching rods to his spine to help straighten it. These conditions took almost all of his bursting youthfulness away, but things got worse.

In 2005, he began fearing light, a condition known as photophobia which kept him indoors to stay out of strong sunlight in tropical Singapore. His conditions worsen in 2006 as he started developing retina pigmentation, where spots started developing on his retina, which further deteriorated his vision.  His in-born heart condition persisted, and a new hearing problem uncovered itself. The excessive ear-wax that was produced by his ears reduced the clarity of audible sounds for him, which is an important key sense for visually challenged individuals, and he has to live with this condition.  By July 2009, Z.Y. was totally blind when he was admitted to Society of Moral Charities, Visually Handicapped (SOMC (VH)) after his personal visit to enquire about services offered by the centre.

All these medical conditions led to a very quiet Z.Y., who did not communicate much with others. Also at the point of time when he joined SOMC (VH), he was unaware about road safety due to his visual loss and had to ask for assistance whenever he was out. This endangered his life every time when help was unavailable.

The SOMC (VH) centre designed and implemented training sessions to train Z.Y., based on his strengths and weaknesses, and guided him through all the different jobs that the centre has undertaken. For example, jobs that the centre have embarked on includes sorting and packaging items, compiling sheets for bookmaking, packing goodie bags, conference folders and event handouts for seminars and conferences, artwork, etc. The centre would either hold the beneficiaries’ hands to guide them on what they should do, or they would set up the operation process in such a way that it is easy for the beneficiaries to touch and know what to do next based on instructions provided by their training officers.

The workshop also encouraged Z.Y. to communicate with others and eventually allowed him to pick up the ability to work independently and consistently, which was further enforced by counseling sessions he undertook. Z.Y. was also subsidised to attend training courses for the disabled. Apart from all these indoor developmental sessions consisting of IT training, which is of Z.Y.’s interest, he was also given orientation and mobility trainings.

Trainings like cane skills and bus taking develops his mobility and also helps him gain independence and awareness about road safety while travelling alone. The occupational therapist would go through the proper ways of using the cane while walking or what to observe while taking the bus alone. After several practices, the occupational therapist would test Z.Y. by allowing him to go through the same procedures all by himself while observing him from afar, and providing aid only when he needed it.

As time went by, despite his physical blindness, sweaty palms and other medical conditions, Z.Y. began building strength and confidence in himself. His capacity to rationalize helped him to develop a positive attitude which urges him to travel daily on his own to and from the centre. 

Being the second child amongst 3 children, both his parents and elder sister were the financial pillars to meet his on-going medical needs. But now, Z.Y. has developed the ability to find more means in earning an income and help support his own medical needs. Although he receives a nominal sum per month for the work he handles at SOMC (VH), it is still able to help lessen the burden of his family members.

Adding on to the skills and trainings that Z.Y. gained from joining SOMC (VH), it also helps  beneficiaries in their job search based on their best ability. As possessing clear speech is one of Z.Y.’s strength, the centre referred him for call centre jobs. Progressively, Z.Y. ventured to try other jobs, including a 6 months contract work of distributing flyers for Carelyna, a beauty and wellness company.

Z.Y. expresses his thanks to SOMC (VH) for helping him. He says: “I thank SOMC for training me for the past 21 1/2 months and I did make some friends too. SOMC (VH) helped me to get a job and gives me better income. The workshop is good!”

Please stay tuned for more updates on Z.Y. in 6 months’ time.