Bedridden for more than five years after being diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, Boonruay Saekow conceded his life back then could not have been more useless.
Boonruay Saekow is crippled by rheumatoid arthritis, but living at the Siriwattana Samut Prakan Home has allowed him to earn a living through painting.
"I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis when I was only 15," recalled Boonruay, now 45. "At 20, my family sent me for treatment at Chulalongkorn University Hospital because I was totally dependent on others. My only activity was to stay in bed, doing nothing."
After a year in hospital, Boonruay was referred to Sawangkanives, a home for the elderly in his province of Samut Prakan, where he was provided with sessions of regular physiotherapy until he was able to do some basic activities like eating and taking a shower despite being in a wheelchair. Boonruay was then asked if he wanted to return home.
"I did not want to be a burden to my family, so I refused to be sent home. The Siriwattana Samut Prakan Home was then suggested to me," he explained.
Siriwattana Samut Prakan Home is the first shelter in Thailand for people with disabilities, founded and operated under the long-established Siriwattana Cheshire Foundation under the Royal Patronage of HM the Queen. This year, the foundation marks its 50th anniversary.
Chaiyuth Homhuan, a disabled motorcycle repairman who lives at the home.
The brainchild of Lord Leonard Cheshire, founder of Leonard Cheshire Disability, who initially donated his residence as the first sanctuary for the disabled in London in 1948, was set up in 1964. Today, there are more than 240 Cheshire Homes for people with physically and mentally impairment worldwide. In Asia, these Cheshire Homes are in China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
In Thailand, Thanpuying Ngamjit Burachat initiated and promoted the establishment of the Cheshire Home by acting as the foundation's first president. The Siriwattana Samut Prakan Home in Samut Prakan province was the first Cheshire Home in Thailand. Later similar homes for the disabled were founded in Pathum Thani, Chiang Mai, Phetchaburi and Roi Et province.
Kamolvan Punyashthiti, vice-chairwoman of the Siriwattana Samut Prakan Home, said that there are approximately 25 people with disabilities residing at the shelter and the objective is to provide them with support, not just physically and emotionally, but also occupationally.
"This place is a home, not a hospital," said Kamolvan. "So despite being physically or mentally impaired, we encourage our residents to stay active and get a job so that they can earn a small income.
"We do not want them to stay in bed or in a wheelchair, doing nothing. We encourage empowerment."
And Boonruay is a good example of a physically-impaired person who works and earns a living. He is wheelchair-bound and his fingers are distorted due to rheumatoid arthritis, but he draws and paints. And this activity earns him around 800 baht per month, aside from the government's disability monthly pension of 600 baht.
"After I first moved in here, I was thinking of doing something more productive than sitting in a wheelchair all day long," he recounted. "So I learnt how to to write and I started sketching. My earlier works were only in black and white because water colours were too difficult to handle. But after practising, I became familiar with the tools and technique. Now I produce an average of two paintings a day."
Boonruay's 54-year-old companion Chaiyuth Homhuan moved into the Siriwattana Samut Prakan Home four years ago, following a fatal car accident that resulted in the amputation of both legs. Like Boonruay, Chaiyuth chose not to return to his family.
"Now I am a motorcycle repairman," said Chaiyuth, proudly. "And I earn some money. This way I've become somewhat important again despite my physical impairment."
A native of Samut Prakan, Chaiyuth is visited by his mother once in a while. Today he has no fixed income as it depends on the number of customers and how much work needs to be done on the motorcycles. "But at least I am self-dependent, financially."
Kamolvan said that the Siriwattana Samut Prakan Home is mainly run on donations, as well as from proceeds from public events organised by the foundation.
Yet she has encouraged all the disabled living at the home to work as a way to gain not just money but also physical and emotional strength. To her the disabled should be able to do things like the able-bodied.
"When we see people with disabilities, we usually feel pity for them," she said. "We therefore give them money because we believe it can buy them a better life. This is not necessarily true. Disabled or not, what's essential is support, both emotionally and occupationally. With support, life can be more liveable and more secure."
INFO FOR DONATION:
- Siriwattana Cheshire Foundation, saving account number 092-0-01915-3, Krungthai Bank (sub-branch Metropolitan Electricity Authority, Phloenchit).
- Call 02-251-6458.
Kamolvan Punyashthiti, fifth left, and some residents at the Siriwattana Samut Prakan Home.
