0 Disabled seek dignity, fight for rights

As many as 25 disabled Balinese refuse to dwell negatively on their disabilities and are continuing their active careers as wooden crafts producers. “I feel lucky that I don’t have to spend my days at home,” smiled Dewa Ayu Made Karmilasari, or Ayu Mila, 31, who was born without legs. Despite her physical limitations, Ayu Mila moves quickly between piles of small wooden toys as she smoothens and paints them. Ayu Mila is one of the dozens of workers at Yayasan Bunga Bali (Balinese Flower Foundation) craft workshop. 

Dozens of types of children’s wooden toys, which are sold at the high-end shopping center Bali Collection in Nusa Dua and Hotel Plaza Paradise in Sanur, are the handmade creations of Ayu Mila and her fellow disabled employees. Ayu Mila said that there had not been much work available for people with a disability like hers. But her current job making handmade wooden toys, which are sold at high prices in luxurious hotels and art-shops, had provided hope for her future. 

Ayu Mila said that no disabled person should be discriminated against and all should be given the equal opportunity to work in any sector, according to their relevant skills. At her workshop, she has been given a chance to show how disabled people have the right to climb the career ladder, as the workshop is managed by Putu Dodik, a young man whose legs were crippled because of polio. Dodik is in charge as the workshop coordinator and his responsibilities include, among others, taking care of the orders and the production process. 

The foundation’s activist, Putu Hendra Saputra, said that as much as he was never discriminated against in the workplace, he still regretted that there was insufficient acceptance of disabled people, as reflected by the civil service recruitment policy. Saputra, who possesses accounting skills and has worked in two different companies, said: “Disabled people only need to be provided with trust and a chance both in the private and public sectors. 

Regretfully, the government’s recruitment policy still requires job applicants to be free of any physical disability. That’s discrimination.” In addition to providing work experience for the disabled at their workshop, the foundation also makes an effort to upgrade their skills through training classes, including carving, computer skills and massage. “We also assist them to get the required equipment to help them in their life, so that they can move more easily,” said the foundation’s caretaker, I Nyoman Dana. 

Dana said that supporting equipment for the thousands of disabled in Bali would make a lot of difference to them in terms of being able to work and being independent. The foundation receives funding from the government, but only enough to cover around 10 percent of their annual operations and programs. “The rest of the funding comes from individuals and corporate donations,” he said. Dana said that there were currently around 180 disabled people on his foundation’s waiting list for assisting equipment, such as wheelchairs. 

His foundation, along with other similar foundations, Yayasan Senang Hati in Gianyar and Yakkum Bali in Badung, is reaching out to the disabled people in Bali, including those whose presence may still be hidden behind closed doors by their own families.

source : bali daily