Rehabilitation center needs funds to expand

Rehabilitation center needs funds to expand

JAKARTA (JP): A private rehabilitation center for handicapped children faces difficulties expanding its services.

"Many parents leave their handicapped children with us for an extended period, forcing us to reject new patients," said Yulianti, director of the Palsigunung rehabilitation center.

Thirty children admitted in 1975 still live at the center which has only 75 beds.

"These blind, deaf-mute and mentally retarded children require 24-hour care. They need to be helped with every physical activity, such as showering, eating, urinating and defecating," she said.

The center also cares for children with multiple handicaps, cerebral palsy, a disease which affects muscular control, as well with children with behavioral problems.

The center's initial mission was to tend primarily for toddlers, Yulianti said.

"Because the sooner we can identify their physical difficulties, the greater are the chances for success," she told visitors from the Senopati Society, Antara reported.

Space and funding are the major constraints felt in trying to expand services, she said.

Mrs. E.N. Sudharmono, head of the Senopati Society, urged the government to start building rehabilitation facilities for physically challenged citizens.

"The burden is almost insurmountable for many private rehabilitation centers to operate optimally and efficiently," Mrs. Sudharmono said.

She said the government has a rehabilitation center in Bekasi, which assists only the blind.

The society donated food, clothing, medication and money to the Palsigunung center during the visit. (14)