Most of us rely on routines. With the 3 months lockdown with the movement control order(MCO) in place, we have been challenged to adapt to the new routines.
Routines are critical for the individuals with special learning abilities. They depend on daily routines to learn and function. Structure and consistency are the keys to their well-being. Therefore, the global pandemic situation which resulted in the implementation of movement control order, has disrupted the usual routine and caused a sense of uncertainty and anxiety among the teenagers and young adults with special needs. Consequently, to manage the family needs, financial constraints and the need to constantly supervise the children have become overwhelming to the parents and caregivers.
In the past, we built relationships with these special-teen families through various sports activities. During the movement control period, these were not possible to carry on. However, by God’s grace, another window of opportunity was opened for this ministry to continue building bridges and supporting the families through online meetings, zoom classes and “101 phone-chat consultation with teacher Liana”. We started with 2 meetings per week to keep the ball rolling and help the parents to familiarize with the use of zoom meetings and learning together.
Isaiah 43:18-19 (NIV) says the Lord: “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”
Indeed, in spite of the limitations of MCO, we have witnessed the goodness of God in leading and providing us with direction and resources to expand our ministry work into a new project called: Laptop-on-loan program. Through social media and personal contacts, we are grateful to have received a unit of laptop donated by brother Micky’s colleague. This unit of laptop has since been given to one of the families to support online learning, keeping daily routines and creating social interaction space for a young adult with special needs.
Moving forward, the Special Teens Sports Ministry will start an online “Daily-Fellowship”, a 15-30 minutes social interaction program for our youth or young adults with all kinds of abilities. This will allow FBC members (all ages, from all walks of life) to get involved as volunteer-facilitator.
Be on the lookout for our next newsletter and poster for this project.
Turning obstacles into opportunities to learn, to grow, to see beyond circumstances…. To God be the glory!
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