Semarang Archdiocese prioritizes people with disabilities

Church organizations encourage parents to take active role in helping children lead normal lives

Jun 24, 2016

SEMARANG: At a glance no one would notice that Mutiara Neizya Wibowo, a seven-year-old girl in Semarang, Central Java, was deaf. She interacts normally with other children and can say some words clearly to her mother.

"Mama, I can go home," she said one day to her mother Maria Windy Aryadewa, 44, who often takes her home after school at a Catholic kindergarten.

Aryadewa recalled how her heart broke when her daughter was diagnosed with profound hearing losssoon after she was born. Since then she has tried whatever she can to help Mutiara, including providing hearing aids. But the results haven’t been satisfactory.

"I always pray for a miracle," said Aryadewa, a parishioner of Queen of the Holy Rosary Cathedral, Semarang.

She has not given up. She has since trained her daughter to communicate using simple visualization tools — without hearing aids.

She uses objects that her daughter finds every day such as plates or books, draws them, writes down their names, says it aloud to Mutiara every day before she sleeps and asks her to follow the movement of her lips. After some time, Mutiara is able to say the names of some objects.

"What makes me happy is that she can call me Mama," said Aryadewa.

Grateful for such a miracle, Aryadewa has established a learning center for the deaf called Efata.

About 55 deaf children and teenagers — aged 2-17 years old — attend classes at the center, which include coloring, drawing, music, dancing, cheerleading, modeling and speech therapy.

Don’t hide your children

Father Alexius Dwi Aryanto, head of the Social and Economic Commission in Semarang Archdiocese, has called on parents not to isolate their disabled children.

"Don’t lock them up at home. Take them with you to church and into communities," he said.

The archdiocese has included caring for the blind, the deaf and people with disabilities in its official program for the next five years (2016-2020).

Some congregations have dedicated services for the blind and deaf, including the Daughters of Mary and Joseph who run the Helen Keller School for the Blind and Deaf in Yogyakarta.

The archdiocese’s own Soegijapranata Social Foundation and Caritas Semarang also provide direct support to people with disabilities.

Father Aryanto said the church will always help but families of children with disabilities must also play their part.

"Taking children out of their homes will help them feel that they are part of the world," he said, adding it would also help parents not to view their children’s disability as a punishment.

Father Antonius Banu, head of Caritas Semarang, said people with a disability have been discriminated against for a long time in society.

"They have been seen as useless and a source of burden," said Father Banu.

Discrimination comes in various forms, such as limited accessible facilities and a lack of public policy to support people with disabilities.

Since deadly quakes hit Yogyakarta and surrounding areas 10 years ago, Caritas Semarang has increasingly provided services to people disabled in the catastrophe.

"As a social arm of Semarang Archdiocese, our mission is to help people with disabilities live lives free from discrimination," he said.

Family’s role

Sister Maria Magdalena of the Daughters of Mary and Joseph said teaching and caring for children -particularly with multiple disabilities — is difficult.

"Parents can even surrender and not want to take care of their children," said Sister Magdalena, principal of Helen Keller School for the Blind and Deaf in Yogyakarta.

At Helen Keller School, nuns look after 30 blind and deaf children, supporting their education and development from the time they wake until they go to bed.

"Educating them is not purely classroom teaching but a holistic approach that can help them stand on their own," she said.

Most, she admits, experience difficulties but with continued education and guidance, the children can expect to take care of themselves by the time they return to their families at around 18 years old.

At the school, children learn how to bathe, go to the toilet, eat, drink, wear clothes, put on shoes and so on, on their own. These basic things are important to increase the children’s independence.

"But the role of parents remains absolute," she said. "In Indonesia there is no special home or institution that looks after these people, except family."

According to Sr. Magdalena the school always involves families.

"For instance, during long holidays the children must go back to their families, so that they are not separated from their parents and other family members for too long," she said.--ucanews.com

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