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)