Key takeaways:

• SPD has helped and impacted the lives of many and from all walks of life.
• Support for SPD is always appreciated

Your support has enabled many persons with special needs or disabilities at SPD to imagine a future filled with hopes and possibilities. Here are stories of three whose lives you have touched.

Fong Ruo En, 9 years old

Ruo En was born with Spastic-Dystonic Quadriplegic Cerebral Palsy and Hypertonia which impairs her movement coordination, balance, posture and speech.

At SPD, she was introduced to Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) which allows her to express herself and communicate with others using a tablet.

Today, she is going to a mainstream school and using AAC during her lessons. She enjoys doing spelling and has friends who care for her. We are very proud of what she has achieved.

Lee Boon Kian, 48 years old

“When I was 28, I had a stroke. My life changed. I couldn’t do simple things by myself such as going to the toilet and I couldn’t walk properly. I had to stop work and needed my mother to take care of me.

In 2002, I joined the SPD Sheltered Workshop as a trainee. There, I did jobs such as packing goodie bags and putting letters into envelopes. I also joined classes and learned English, Maths and IT to upgrade myself.

Today, I am a line leader at the Sheltered Workshop. I can walk short distances using a walker and take care of my elderly mother.”

Lee Yong Hwee, 58 years old

“Less than a year ago, I had to stop work as a car painter because I had a stroke. It was very hard – people could not understand what I was saying and I couldn’t walk properly.

I have 2 children going to school. As I couldn’t work, my wife became the sole breadwinner. I am grateful to SPD for giving me subsidy for therapy and day care, and also for the transport to go there.

Today, I am able to speak more clearly, go everywhere by myself without a walking aid and fetch my wife from work every day.”

We are working towards helping 6,300 people with disabilities each year by 2021. And we need your help. Click here to find out how you can do so!