The World Of Tzu Chi(Vol.128)

TZU CHI 128 25 samples, he will call the mailing company to pick up the packages. He is also responsible for sending receipts to customers. Once he gets the receipts, he must confirm with his colleague to ensure the recipient’s name and address are faced upwards after folding, before sending out the sealed envelopes with stamps attached. Furthermore, whenever the office receives an order, his colleagues will ask him to relay the order to the warehouse downstairs so the workers can arrange for shipments. His colleague, Chia Sok Pen, is grateful for his enthusiasm and seriousness, which has reduced lots of her workload. “He is very independent and will ask questions and clarification. He has memorized the phone numbers of every courier company and will save information he can’t remember in the computer. When he takes leave, I often have to call him for help when mailing samples,” she said. Sok Pen said that their company’s lower floor is often stocked with goods while staff’s motorcycles would obstruct the front door. When Siong Tieng takes the lists downstairs, he often falls over the obstacles. However, she admires that he never takes these problems as an excuse. Instead, he will be extra careful to avoid falling. Learning to be independent since young Born in Mentakab, Pahang, Siong Tieng just turned 31. He suffers from hereditary glaucoma. His eyesight began to fail at four. He now has only 20% vision in both eyes. The world was blurry for as long as he could remember. When he was a child, his mother initially sent him to a normal school, until he could not cope, then he was transferred to a special needs boarding school in Kuantan. At that time, he was only ten and was the only Chinese in the school. Facing an unfamiliar environment, he cried when his mother was leaving. Although his mother was worried, for his future, she had to let go. “Every Friday, my mum would come to Kuantan by bus and bring me home. She would send me back to school on Sunday.” For ten years, he and his family only reunited on weekends. After graduating from secondary school, Siong Tieng came to the Malaysian Association for the Blind (MAB) in Kuala Lumpur to study a basic computer course. There, he also learned to clean, take care of himself and cook simple meals. A year later, with the help of MAB, he found his current job as a receptionist. He has now worked for 9.5 years. He said, many visually impaired persons (VIPs) face difficulties in finding jobs because they do not know where to go. Thanks to MAB, he was able to secure one. At first, he had to learn from scratch, just like any other freshman. “I only learned to make and receive calls when I came here. It was not taught in school. I would ask my colleagues when I was unsure. Some people understood my situation, some didn’t. I overcame these problems through perseverance.” Compared to other VIPs who work as telephone operators or masseurs, his work seemed more complicated. His phone, computer and stationeries are placed neatly in front of him. On the other side, were his personal belongings. His phone rang several From Disabled to Able