Skills to help shape a more independent future

Nadzirah Halim’s embroidery is delicate work – orchids, roses and hibiscus stitched carefully onto fabric, each design shaped by hours of practice and patience.

The 36-year-old only began learning the craft six years ago after joining a workshop in Batu Gajah during the pandemic – prior to which, she had never attended a skills programme for people with disabilities.

Embroidery, she told Bernama, was not easy to master, but she stuck with it. Today, she spends about three hours a day working on customers’ orders and takes pride in producing floral patterns that meet the standards set by the workshop.

Her handiwork currently brings in about RM200 a month: modest earnings, but meaningful for someone building greater independence through a skill she did not have a few years ago.

“I hope I can continue to use this skill to support myself,” she said.

Nadzirah was among 26 participants in an embroidery competition involving trainees from five special-education institutions in Perak. The event on Oct 5 also brought together other groups showcasing the skills and interests of people with disabilities.

Among them was Empowering Beauty, a group of makeup artists with Down syndrome.

For 19-year-old Loh Xin Jeanne, makeup has long been something she enjoys. Her mother, Tan Saw Hoon, 51, said her daughter had always wanted to look like a “princess”.

“Her makeup skills, however, were initially quite poor. We looked for private classes, but they were very expensive, about RM300 per session,” Tan told Bernama.

She later enrolled Xin Jeanne in a free makeup programme for people with Down syndrome. Since beginning weekly classes in July, Tan said her daughter’s skills have improved steadily.

For her, the value of the programme goes beyond learning how to apply makeup. She believes such activities can also help young people with Down syndrome strengthen their social and communication skills while becoming more confident in everyday life.

That wider goal is central to the work of Sekolah Semangat Maju Batu Gajah, a non-profit special-education school. Its chairman, Ooi Kah Biew, said students should be given opportunities to develop practical abilities that can support them beyond the classroom.

“Many of our students have skills, but their abilities often go unnoticed because most of them simply stay at home after returning from school,” he noted.

“We do not want them to come to school just to learn basic things – we want them to acquire capabilities that can help them live independently.”

For Nadzirah, that process is already taking shape one stitch at a time. What began as a new craft has become work she can call her own, with each completed piece carrying both her skill and her hope of supporting herself.

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