The Malaysian Council of Cheshire Home and Services (MCCHS) organised a fun filled informative seminar on 3rd December 2016 to commemorate the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
The theme for 2016 International Day for Persons with Disabilities is ‘Achieving 17 Goals for the Future We Want’, draws attention to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and how these goals can create a more inclusive and equitable world for persons with disabilities. The seminar focused on Goal 8 of the Decent Work and Economic Growth, in which young disabled persons talk about the challenges in training and in workplace.
Held at the Dorsett Grand Subang Hotel, the seminar was hosted by Selangor Cheshire Home and supported by The Malaysian Council for Rehabilitation, and Ministry of Women, Family & Community Development.
The seminar was graced by Dr. Rose Lena Lazemi, the Secretary General of Ministry of Women, Family & Community Development.
Also present were President of The Malaysian Council for Cheshire Home and Services, Datuk Rowland Chin and Chairman Organizing Committee & President of Selangor Cheshire Home, Datin Paduka Khatijah Sulieman.
In her speech, Dr. Rose said that the theme of the celebration namely “Achieving 17 Goals for the Future We Want” is in line with the Eleventh Malaysia Plan and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with their emphasis on “no one should be left behind”.
She also mentioned that in the Eleventh Malaysia Plan, the Government will continue to focus on enhancing inclusiveness and equitable opportunities for all Malaysians. For Persons with Disabilities, the focus of the Eleventh Malaysia Plan is to provide a more conducive and friendly environment for active, productive and independent living. This will be done through creating a friendly physical environment for persons with disabilities and expanding training and skills development to increase employ-ability.
“Datuk Rowland Chin, in his opening speech, expressed his joy of being able tocelebrate the auspicious day and was quite moved by the numerous accomplishments of disabled community over the past years. He also emphasised on the importance of Economic Empowerment Programme(EEP) in Sabah and Selangor Cheshire Homes,while noting its positive impact towards the disabled community, especially thosewith learning disability.”
In her speech, Datin Paduka Khatijah Sulieman said that out of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, the Malaysian Council of Cheshire Homes and Services (MCCHS) focused specifically on the 8th goal, which is Decent Work and Economic Growth.
Both Dr. Rose and Datin Paduka Khatijah agreed that by promoting empowerment, we can ‘Make the Right Deal’ for people with disabilities. This enhances their own capacities and supports them in setting their own priorities.
“Empowerment involves investing in people – in jobs, health, nutrition, education, and social protection. When people are empowered they are better prepared to take advantage of opportunities, they become agents of change and can more readily embrace their civic responsibilities,” added Datin Paduka Khatijah.
During the program, there was also a special sharing session by prominent speakers about their achievements and struggles in finding decent employment and achieving personal economic growth.
