PYRO Donates To SMARTER Shop
By Hj Ahmed Shaheeb

Bandar Seri Begawan - The SMARTER Autism Shop yesterday received a visit from the Maktab Duli Pengiran Muda Al-Muhtadee PYRO (Pioneering Youth Reach Out) group, who dropped by to make a donation of various used items.

"We want to create some sort of autism awareness not only among our members but the students of our school. We want them to be aware and to help the community rather than focusing purely on themselves. We want to raise them up as individuals who care about the society," said Teacher In Charge Yong Chee Ting.

"We also want to inform them that rather than burning/ throwing away items that are of no use at home can now be put to good use," she added.

When asked why PYRO had specifically selected to donate to SMARTER, she said, "We chose SMARTER because at the moment they are a new up and coming organisation. They need a lot of help and we are trying to do all we can through this collection.

"All this while we have been trying to help Pusat Ehsan. Now we want to focus on the others. There are a lot of other organisations that people are not aware of, which do not get enough help.

"Additionally, we chose SMARTER because what it does also suits our purpose and our school.

"We can collect these items for bigger organisations such as Pusat Ehsan, but they might not necessarily need it. Whereas SMARTER has a shop, which can do the collection, and SMARTER can also come to our school to do a presentation in order to raise awareness on autism," she added.

Established several years ago by a group of students, PYRO consists of Upper and Lower VI students whose initial aim was to help Pusat Ehsan. Numerous charity - events were lined up in the past to help the centre.

Miss Yong added, "We want them to learn to work together. So far they have shown a lot of dedication to the cause. They now realise that there are people out there who are less fortunate.

"Caring and sharing in the community is very important," she said.

The trip comes following a recent autism awareness talk by SMARTER President Malai Haji Abdullah Malai Haji Othman at Maktab Duli Pengiran MudaAl-Muhtadee.

According to Miss Yong, the students and teachers found the talk and exhibition very interesting.

"They didn't really know what autism was beforehand and the fact that the speaker has an autistic child made it a little more personal. So they found that interesting and it is also good for subjects like the General Paper as they become aware of autism and the career opportunities available to autistic individuals," said Miss Yong.

When asked about the significance of the trip by the PYRO group to the SMARTER autism shop, SMARTER President Malai Haji Abdullah said, "I'm very happy our younger generation and future leaders of Brunei are empathising and beginning to understand that community spirit is important. It is not just lip service and it is shown through their donations... It shows the Brunei culture of caring".

Additionally, he also stressed that individuals with autism should pay regular visits to thee centre.

"Autistic individuals that come to our centre should do so five days a week, not just once, twice or three times a week. It is five days a week, like a school - two hours in the morning, two hours in the afternoon and one-on-one intensive intervention," he said.

Currently, SMARTER has 25 volunteers and are in need of more specialist volunteers in the field of art, music, woodwork, craft, agriculture and auto mechanics.

Malai Hj Abdullah also spoke on how the SMARTER autism shop helps to create employment for autistic individuals.

"The provisions donated to the shop will be sent to BACA (Brunei Autism Centre for Adults), where they will be repaired, washed and ironed, folded, hanged (if needed) and price tagged.

"The shop will have all usable items that have been repaired by the children at BACA. That is where the employment comes in," he said.

Since its opening, the SMARTER autism shop has been very well received by the general public, garnering support from numerous organisations.

"We hope that if the autism shop continues to be well received, then we can expand ... maybe rent another door," the SMARTER President said. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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