NEW RONALD McDONALD SENSORY ROOM™
LAUNCHED AT THE YAYASAN ORANG KURANG UPAYA KELANTAN

Kota Bahru, 21 JAN 2008 – The Ronald McDonald Sensory Room™ was officially launched today at the Yayasan Orang Kurang Upaya Kelantan (YOKUK) in Kota Bharu, in a grand ceremony officiated by Y.B Dato’ Seri Panglima Annuar Musa, Chairman of Lembaga Kemajuan Pertanian KEMUBU (KADA).

The Ronald McDonald Sensory Room™ is the fifth in Malaysia and is a continuing community project initiated by the Ronald McDonald Children’s Charities (RMCC) to benefit mentally disabled children. This Sensory Room provides a full range of sensory stimulation and enjoyable experience in an atmosphere of comfort and relaxation using ‘Snoezelen’, a Multi-Sensory Stimulating system from the United Kingdom which arouses the primary senses of Sight, Hearing, Touch and Smell. The Room can play an important role in helping to rehabilitate mentally disabled children in a relaxed, enjoyable manner. It is also an additional tool for both teachers and therapists to stimulate the children as they help them to develop their senses of touch, smell, sight and hearing. Research has shown that the room can help to reduce hyperactivity, self-inflicted injuries and socially disturbing behaviour and in so doing enhances the children’s well-being.

In his welcoming speech, the chairman of YOKUK, YB Datuk Zaid Ibrahim expressed his gratitude to RMCC for their generosity in setting up the first Sensory Room in the East Coast at YOKUK. “I feel honoured that YOKUK was chosen for this project and we welcome the various medical departments in the vicinity to work with us to help the disabled people use this facility”.

In her speech during the launch, RMCC President, Puan Fadillah Yakin further concurred, “RMCC has received good response and positive feedback from parents and caregivers of the children who are benefiting from the use of the Ronald McDonald Sensory Room™ in all the other centres to which we have donated the rooms. I am confident that the children here at YOKUK will benefit from it too. In line with RMCC’s objective of lending kids a helping hand, our goal is to set up at least one such facility in each state.

YB Dato’ Seri Panglima Annuar Musa welcomed RMCC’s initiative to set up similar projects across the country and congratulated RMCC for its efforts aimed at helping the country’s underprivileged children. The first Ronald McDonald Sensory Room™ in Malaysia, which had cost RM50, 000 was built at the Training Centre for Special Children organised by the Society For the Severely Mentally Handicapped Selangor and Federal Territory (SSMH) in Petaling Jaya in 1999. The second Room was built at a cost of RM100,000 at the Bethany Home, Perak in 2005. The third Room on the list is located at the Agape Centre in Sibu, Sarawak and was built at a cost of RM98, 300 while the fourth at PSDM cost RM79,900. The Room at the Yayasan Orang Kurang Upaya Kelantan incurred a cost of RM147,800 and is the largest Sensory Room to date.

(L to R): YB Dato’ Zaid Ibrahim receiving the mock key from Puan Fadillah Yakin, as YB Dato’ Panglima Annuar Musa looks on.