Link : http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Tuesday/National/2238776/Article/index_html
NSTP-PwC Malaysian Humanitarian Award: A vision inspired Sia to set up Beautiful Gate Foundation
KUALA LUMPUR: As she trundled up the ramp to collect her prize on stage, Sia Siew Chin’s wheelchair got momentarily stuck.
But, with her chin set in stubborn determination, she muscled her way past the obstacle to collect her Young Humanitarian Award and enjoy her moment in the sun.
It is the same kind of perseverance that enabled the 42-year-old to nurture the Beautiful Gate Foundation — a body which provides food, accommodation, job placements and instruction for trainers of the disabled — from its humble beginnings as the Beautiful Gate-Methodist Ministry in 1993, to the six-centre foundation it is today.
The tireless advocate of the disabled was yesterday honoured for her work at the Fourth NSTP-PwC Malaysian Humanitarian Awards, receiving a trophy, a certificate of acknowledgement and RM20,000 from NSTP chairman Datuk Seri Mohamed Jawhar Hassan and Pricewaterhouse Coopers executive chairman Datuk Johan Raslan.
The runner-up was 39-year-old V. Murugesan, who formed the Damai Disabled Persons Association to defend disabled people’s basic rights and help them lead an independent life.
He received RM10,000 and a certificate of acknowledgement.
Sia said she was inspired to form Beautiful Gate by a vision she had as an 18-year-old.
“I saw many disabled people crawling on the floor and it made me feel very sad.
“I asked myself if disabled people had to live without dignity,” said the soft-spoken mother of two.
The vision was accompanied by an equally-disturbing dose of reality.
One day, as she followed a wheelchair-bound friend home, she saw her friend, upon reaching the entrance, get down from her chair and crawl into the house simply because she did not want to get scolded for getting dirt from the wheelchair’s tyres into the house.
“That was what made me decide to open Beautiful Gate.
“My work is challenging and difficult, but not impossible. I believe everything can be done if you put in the effort,” said Sia.
Rajamanikam Vengadasalam, 62, won the Lifetime Humanitarian Award for his dedication to improving the lot of the mentally disabled.
Though he had been involved in the cause since the 1980s when he used to volunteer in a home for the mentally challenged, his full-time involvement came almost by accident.
Having left his job as a lorry driver after opting for the voluntary separation scheme, he formed a home for paying disabled children.
Unfortunately, many of the children’s parents abandoned them at the home, leaving Rajamanikam in a fix.
“I thought of closing the home and lodged reports with the police and welfare department.
“However, the welfare officers convinced me to change the status of my home from a business to a welfare organisation,” he said.
Today, his centre — Pusat Penjagaan Kanak-kanak Terencat Akal Johor Baru — is home to about 400 disabled people aged between three and 35 years of age.
Like Sia, he received a trophy and a certificate of acknowledgement, as well as RM25,000 in prize money.
He also got another RM25,000 to be donated to a charity of his choice. Rajamanikam selected Pusat Penjagaan Kanak-kanak Terencat Akal Johor Baru.
Meanwhile, the Team Humanitarian Award was won by Yayasan Pendidikan Bandar Tun Razak.
The runner-up was Food Not Bombs Kuala Lumpur.
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Continue your good work and ministry, Pastor Sia. All honor, glory and power be unto Him.
Disciple of Jesus 