"I Was Born This Way But I Don't Blame My Parents"
A man with cerebral palsy told a group of students who visited him that he "can't be choosy in life".
It's easy to disregard individuals when they suffer from some kind of disability, but a teen wants Malaysians to treat them as equals
"The mentally challenged have feelings too. We're all the same and there's no reason to put them down or feel any different around them."
Those were the words of Preveena Ramakrishnan after she visited Pusat Kanak-Kanak Terencat Akal Bahagia, or 'Happiness Centre' for a class project a few weeks ago.
Happiness Centre is a special centre in Melaka, where more than 30 residents who are mentally and very severely disabled find refuge in this place they call home.
"Everyone in my class went to orphanages. I found this place and my group went. It was our first time there," the student at Melaka-Manipal Medical College (MMMC) said.
Here, Preveena met a resident named Ern Hau. He is one of the few people in the home who are able to speak.
Preveena and her friend spent almost two hours just getting to know Ern Hau, who suffers from cerebral palsy.
"He had so many nice things to say about life. He said that we can't be choosy in life because we get whatever we get, and we have to live the best out of whatever we have," the 18-year-old recalled.
"Despite all his physical and mental disabilities, Ern Hau told us, 'I was born this way but I don't blame my parents. I accept myself as a normal person and they do too. I can't be choosy in life'."
Ern Hau has been in the centre in for the past 17 years and counting
His mother visits him at least once a month and the 30-year-old looks forward to meeting her.
"I want to make my mummy proud the next time she visits me so I have been trying to exercise my arms and feet, and I'm getting better," he told Preveena and her friends.
Ern Hau faces great difficulties to even his hands but he persevered and kept pushing his limits. Recently, he is able to hold a bottle and drinks from it all by himself.
He also shared with Preveena his dreams for the future. Since he loves drawing, he hopes to sell his drawings one day and give away all the money he has to help people.
That meeting with Ern Hau was nothing short of inspiring, and it certainly reminded Preveena that people with disabilities also have their own dreams and aspirations
"They are still humans and they have feelings," Preveena said.
"We're all the same and we all need care and attention from others to a certain extent. So, we should put ourselves in their shoes before discriminating them."
"We tend to feel sorry for them but that doesn't make them feel better in any way. It only makes it worse. They want to feel accepted and be treated as equals."
Preveena pointed out that Ern Hau, despite all his circumstances, still hopes that he can help to create a better world.
"We shouldn't be complaining about petty things but instead, try making the world a better place and begin by breaking the stereotypes about disability. There is no greater disability in society than the inability to see a person as a whole. It's about time we change."
For Preveena, the encounter with the Ern Hau and the other residents at Happiness Centre only affirms what she has always believed in - that these people deserve better. She has decided to keep going back, even if it's just to lend emotional support.
"We plan to keep going not just because they need help but I really feel like the people there tend to get really lonely," she said.
"Their own families decided to abandon them and they never came to visit. It's really heart-wrenching. We just said 'hello' and so many of them got really excited. And you'll be surprised how smart they are. Only three in the home can actually speak yet we still learned a lot from them."
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