IBM助殘障人士社群邁向知識經濟

Equipping the disabled community for the K-economy

IBMer volunteers work with DAMAI Disabled Persons Association to encourage careers in technology-related industries

Petaling Jaya, 25 October 2007 – Twenty members of the DAMAI Disabled Persons Association of Selangor and Wilayah Persekutuan (DAMAI) were special guests at Plaza IBM, Bandar Utama today for an introduction to technology-related careers for people with disabilities and to witness the official handover of a grant to set up an ICT center in DAMAI Disabled Training Center Petaling Jaya Old Town.

V Murugeswaran, DAMAI’s President, who was present at the event said, “As Malaysia is geared towards the k-economy and society, people with disabilities should also equip themselves with the necessary skills so that they may also contribute positively.”

DAMAI’s main objective is to provide people with disabilities with the necessary skills to be independent, to fit in with today’s workforce. “Technology and IT are fields where talent, knowledge, and ideas transcend physical boundaries. These are areas where people with disabilities can flourish and even excel in,” he added.

This initiative was the brainchild of a group of five IBMers, who are volunteers for DAMAI: Wong Ying Keat, Yogeswaran Govindarajah, Kuu Meei Hui, Eveline Wong, and Ng Poh Taeng. The five members volunteered their time on weekends and led a host of activities related to the development of IT skills and knowledge. They conducted computer training classes on word document and presentation applications, education on Internet programs such as search engines and instant messaging, and also reviewed the center’s current infrastructure for facilitating these activities.

“In today’s work environment, it is important for any person to have a set of basic computer skills that would be applicable to all industries,” said Wong Ying Keat, who is the leader of the group and also IBM Malaysia’s Network Transition Manager.

“As a group of working IT professionals, we felt strongly about imparting our experience and expertise to members of DAMAI so that they too can be part of the modern workforce.” With over 200 hours of volunteering with DAMAI as a group, the team qualified for an ODC Community Grant from IBM. They applied for the grant to further augment their efforts in contributing to the IT skills-development and education of DAMAI members. With the cash grant, they were able to acquire the necessary new equipment such as 1 laptop, 6 personal computers, 1 projector, 3 printers and the network setup to improve on the ICT center at DAMAI.

“I think the concept of IBM On Demand Community (ODC) promoting wide-spread employee and retiree volunteerism in socially relevant projects throughout the world is great. It enables ordinary citizens like my team and I to invest our own time in charitable causes of our own choice” said Kuu Meei Hui, IBM Malaysia’s Cloning Center Team Lead. Loo Hwai Sheng, the Product Lifecycle Management Solutions Manager from IBM who is disabled, was also at the talk to share his experience and to inspire the guests.

He has been with IBM for more than 10 years. Loo said, “Our physical limitations may be an obstacle in our lives, but if we look for opportunities where our talents can be recognized, we can build value for ourselves as full-fledged citizens contributing to the country’s development, and more.”