Batu Caves

Coco and I went to the Batu Caves, a well-visited spot for tourists and Hindu devotees alike. From afar, a grand staircase is visible, with 272 steps to the caves. Limestone dropped and shaped the cave walls, monkey jumped about and bats (three types) flying over people’s heads, and shrines/temples stood upright with colorful figurines or deities. The Batu Caves was discovered in 1891 by the American explorer William Hornaby. Ten years later, “local Indian dignitaries convinced the British colonial authorities that the caves were ideal places in which to worship. Soon ever-increasing number of devotees were visiting the caves to pray at the shrine established here to Lord Muruga; later the temple complex was expanded to include a shrine to the elephant-headed deity Ganesh” (The Rough Guide to Malaysia, Singapore & Brunei, 2009).

Coco’s Seminar on Deaf-Blindness

Coco had a seminar on deaf-blindness last week. Like mentioned earlier, there are nearly no programs for the deaf-blind in Malaysia. Someone suggested via this blog site for us to check with the Perkins International to find out how this organization serve the deaf-blind population in Malaysia – it turns out that the Perkins International works with a school of the blind (St. Nicholas) in the Penang state by training deaf-blind people to gain independent living skills. In this case, the Perkins Intl serves approximately 6,500 deaf-blind people in some countries of the SE Asia and Asia region annually [please double-check for the accuracy of this information if needed]. However, the MFD is unaware of any education program of/for the deaf-blind and there are no programs serving the deaf-blind run by deaf people. With that being said, approximately 40 people, including some government representatives attended Coco’s seminar on deaf-blindness. At her seminar, she gave a monologue on her experiences as a deaf-blind individual and shared few communication techniques, and showed the audience some devices for the deaf-blind people. I attended her seminar as an interpreter, and I am more than certain that it was an eye-opening experience for some individuals at the seminar to watch us communicate via tactile.

The Terengganu School of the Deaf

While at Kuala Terengganu, we took some time to visit a school of the deaf, and the layout of this school was unbelievably superb. Colorful signs decorated the roofs of walkways connecting buildings, the signs displayed different pictures/words/numbers/signs so the students would be able to learn/review what they learned while walking to the cafeteria, dorms, et al. Classrooms were cheerful and colorful. Frankly, the layout of this school is one of the best out of all schools of the deaf I had seen to date. We also met with cheerful boys at dorms (quoting Coco: I was definitely out of my element while I interacted with the boys – usually, I am uneasy around children). After our tour at this school, we headed back for Puchong.

Kuala Besut and Kuala Terengganu

To reach Kuala Terengganu, our next stop as we headed for Puchong, Sazali drove us on a breathtaking coastal route, which overlooked the China Sea. The winds swayed the palm trees that lined the deserted beaches; locals minded their own businesses at the markets and stalls. We stopped at Kuala Besut and watched fishermen at work before we stayed at a nearby resort (run by local people, thank goodness) for late lunch. After lunch, we dropped by at a beach for a stroll under the hot and fierce sun. No one swam and so didn’t we. Instead, people sat under palm trees and picnicked, or rested inside the nooks of caves overlooking the sea. After our beachside break, we arrived Kuala Terengganu and met with the president of the MFD at Terengganu and his wife (The MFD has 14 regional affiliations) for dinner before hitting the sack.

I was unable to reach any participants because people were out and about at the time, and it was suggested for me to return later in the month when they open up their one-stop communication center. I doubt I would be able to return due to other scheduled visits.

Kota Bharu

Sazali and Zu took us to the capital of Kelantan, Kota Bharu, which sits on the Northeastern tip of Malaysia to attend an AGM run by the MFD affiliation office so we would be able to present on our work in Malaysia. We left Kuala Lumpur late in the evening, and headed up north via a bumpy “snake” route winding between the Cameron Highlands and the foothills of Taman Negara. I am more than certain that the sights were awesome and unfortunately, we went through this pass during nighttime.

It was a long drive, and we were exhausted that we showed up few hours late for the meeting. However, many people attended the meeting (maybe 50+) to vote for new executive board members to run the office. By the looks of it, the meeting was productive and a new group of members was selected to run the necessary positions. Coco and I was able to share on our work in Malaysia, Coco talked about deaf-blindness, and I presented on my research activities in Malaysia. I was able to find several interested participants afterwards – and we headed straight for the beach after my interview with a couple of other people. We dined on crab, fruit, and drank coconut water. It was definitely a nice change from being in the city for so long – kids were flying their kites, parents looking over their shoulders for their children, and snake charmers attracted a fairly large group in order to promote their product. Stalls stood and sold corn among some other stuff. The atmosphere was very laidback, more of my style. We then stopped by at a nearby shop to purchase local caftans (a loose dress), and Malaysian-style batiks (piece of cloth [dresses or shirts] with colored designs by dye – having first applied wax to the parts to be left dyed [MAC dictionary, 2010]).

Diversifying Participants in Malaysia

Source: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/maps/asia/malaysia/

To date I've observed and reached participants for my research from Kota Bharu, Kuala Terengganu, Kuala Lumpur, Puchong and Georgetown (Penang) areas. Prior to the most recent meeting with the stakeholders, I will travel to other states this month: Malacca (sp.), Kedan, Penang, Johor, Sabah, and Sarawak to reach other potential participants. In this case, it is important to diversify the stakeholders to understand their fundamental root and needs because the needs may vary within different locations.

MA in International Development @ Gallaudet University

Congratulations, Arlinda and Coco! I’m more than certain you’d have fun and learn SO much from this program.

To pursue a MA degree in ID from GU will allow students GAIN skills and knowledge related to development work, especially if one is truly interested in working with PWD. Go to http://edf.gallaudet.edu/internationaldevelopment-MA.xml if you are interested in learning more about this program.

In my opinion, it is complicated to achieve an effective and sustainable development because there are numerous factors (cultural context, political climate, economics, et al) one has to consider before enforcing development. Many communities in developing countries are vulnerable, and problems may escalate (worsen) if an uneducated development worker is onboard. If you need examples of this, open your eyes and you'd see evidences of this happening in this BIG OLD world.. For starters, let's check Africa out... Oh! What about Jamaica, Nepal, India, Thailand, and sadly, the list goes on.

Simply put: Educate yourself.

Having said that, I'd like to share a quote I saw at a school of the deaf in Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia:

Everyone think of changing this world but no one think of changing himself – Tolstoy.