Banu Halfway There - She Still Needs Your Help

DATELINE DESA MENTARI, PETALING JAYA:

NINE-YEAR OLD NOR SAHEERA BANU is finally getting the attention that she truly needs.

This; thanks to initiatives taken by Petpositive, The Malaysian Animal-Assisted Therapy for the Disabled and the Elderly Association.

Two weeks ago Our Society received a SOS call saying that the little girl in the poorest part of PJ is in an urgent need of a wheelchair that is catered to her special needs.

We rushed out as soon as possible to Banu's Desa Mentari flat. 

Our assessment included trying to find out what other help she needed. 

On the first trip itself we discovered that Banu needed more than only a special wheelchair. 

A check on her family's background revealed the father's income is based only on what he can provide as an odd job worker. 

Her mother, Zaiton, has to look after Banu and her three school-going siblings around her age.

Fezia checking Banu's abilities

Zaiton is left with the most and heaviest responsibility: She has to offer virtually 24-hour care for Banu as well take care of her other children.

She has to carry her daughter everywhere so that she can keep an eye on her.

Leaving Banu unattended even for a short while could land her into trouble. 

This means Zaiton has to take Banu along when she does the marketing. She even has to do that when she takes her other children downstairs to catch the school bus. 

Look at Banu's smile over the stroller

The request for the wheelchair came when Zaiton realised that Banu was getting too heavy for her to physically carry her around. 

We also realised that Banu was only getting RM100 from the Welfare Department in Selangor. 

This is not at all sufficient to take care of all the little girl's needs.

Zaiton requested for an extra RM100 from the Welfare but they flatly turned down her request. 

Banu also needs RM320.00 a month for diapers. Then there is also the need for some extra cash for special food for the growing disabled child.

There's that infectious smile again

On our second visit to Banu's, we took along Fezia Tyebally - a mother of a disabled child named Amir.

Fezia proved to be extremely helpful because she could point out what else Banu needs from the experience of looking after her own child and working with other children with special needs.

Fezia very kindly donated a stroller that she had bought for Amir when he was younger which she had somehow never used.

Banu fell in love with it at once. 

She couldn't stop smiling the moment we put her in her new chair.

Fezia also went to the extent of donating some nutritious food and drinks for Banu that she had brought along with her during the visit.

Through Fezia's help, we managed to get an appointment for Banu with a private dentist in Kuala Lumpur.

He is Dr Jason Cheong who practises in Jason Cheong Dental Surgery in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur. 

Banu was taken to the Dr Jason last Wednesday where she was treated free of charge by the kind dentist. 

He had to make three extractions of her milk tooth and finished off with a thorough scaling.

The whole team including MBPJ's staff

Transport was kindly provided by the Petaling Jaya City Council's (MBPJ) special disabled-friendly van as Banu was a PJ resident.

The van made another trip the next day to the Pusat Perubatan Universiti Malaya (PPUM) where it was Dr Chung Tze Yang's turn to check on the girl. 

Dr Chung is a specialist rehabilitation doctor in the hospital. 

A grateful Zaiton over Fezia's gifts

Upon inspecting the stroller, Dr Chung discovered that Fezia's stroller was unfortunately not the best solution for Banu. 

The little girl was a little small for the stroller and required a custom made right-sized wheelchair with proper support for her special needs. 

Such a wheelchair, he told PET+BLOGSPOT would cost anywhere from RM3000.00 to RM5000.00.

It will be built under the specifications of experts at PPUM.

Meanwhile, Dr Chung has arranged for several follow up appointments for Banu. 

They are to check on her hearing, vision, speech and dietary needs. The latter is for her problems in swallowing.

Dr Chung Tze Yang to follow up

According to Dr Chung, the checkups will all be held on separate days so as not to stress the little girl too much by running the tests all in one go. 

Transport will be provided by the MBPJ disabled-friendly van.

However, it would be still be great if there are volunteers to accompany Banu and her mother - when they can - on their appointment dates. 

This is to help keep them company as well as to help them find their way about the hospital. 

Here is a summary of the help that Banu needs. 

If you can help, please call us at 012 220 3146 or write to us at petpositive@yahoo.com

1. One-off donation of special wheelchair at RM3000.00 to RM5000.00. (Good news: Just before we printed this story, we received news from an anonymous couple that they would be donating Banu's wheelchair.) 
2. Monthly donation in medium-sized diapers form (Total RM320.00). It would be great if delivery can also be organised.
3. Monthly donation of food. (Total RM150.00).
4. Volunteers to transport or just accompany Banu and her mum to the hospital appointments.       

Once these needs are all met, Petpositive will look into ways in which Banu can receive animal-assisted therapy for positive living. 

This could be done either by providing her with an aquarium or pet bird, perhaps. 

If a pet in their home is not possible, we will look into making it possible for her to attend sessions with her mother where animal-assisted therapy can be provided. 

If you are interested to help in this area, kindly call us too.

 

Click HERE to read our previous story on Banu.

NOTE: Fezia Tyebally and Dr Chung Tze Yang are active volunteers of Petpositive.

PET+BLOGSPOT is an ACTIVE ONLINE BLOG of the Malaysian Animal-Assisted Therapy for the Disabled and Elderly Association (Petpositive). We strive to keep our reports and stories CURRENT, ACCURATE and RELIABLE. We offer both local and foreign news on animals, disability and the elderly. PET+BLOGSPOT was first established in October 2007. Our hits since then is now 55,000 and counting. PET+BLOGSPOT is updated daily. Sometimes even twice and three times a day. Kindly take note that views expressed in this blog are not necessarily those of PETPOSITIVE. You may also visit our Webpage by browsing: www.petpositive.com.my You can also find us in Facebook as PETPOSITIVE EMPOWERMENT. Thank you for your support.