IPOH, Oct 5 — The intricate orchid embroidery adorning the shirt made it hard to imagine that the delicate handiwork was created by a person with a learning disability.
Nadzirah Halim, 36, only took up the craft six years ago, but she has succeeded in honing her skills at Bengkel Perlindungan Semangat Maju in Batu Gajah here, which she joined during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“At the workshop, I learned to embroider and make flower pots and chips. Prior to that, I have never attended any skills school for people with disabilities,” she said.
Nadzirah was among 26 participants in an embroidery competition for special needs students held here yesterday as part of a programme initiated by various organisations.
The participants comprised trainees from five special education institutions in Perak.
Admitting that embroidery is quite challenging to learn, Nadzirah said she is proud to have mastered the skill and can now produce embroidery featuring several types of flowers, including orchids, roses and hibiscus.
“The floral designs I embroider are based on customers’ requests. I hope I can use this skill to support myself,” said Nadzirah, who currently earns about RM200 a month from selling her handiwork.
She added that she spends about three hours a day working on customers’ orders, while also ensuring that the embroidery meets the standards set by the institution.
Yesterday’s event also featured the 2026 Special Needs Community Programme, which saw the participation of Empowering Beauty, a group of makeup artists with Down syndrome.
The programme also included sales activities and musical and singing performances by several communities of persons with disabilities.
Tan Saw Hoon, 51, mother of Loh Xin Jeanne, 19, who has Down syndrome, said her daughter had always been interested in makeup and wanted to look like a “princess”.
“But her makeup skills were quite poor earlier. We looked for private classes, but they were very expensive, costing about RM300 per session.
Tan said she then enrolled her daughter in a makeup programme specifically for the Down syndrome community, organised for free by Sunway University.
She said her daughter began participating in the classes in July and attends weekly training sessions, with her skills showing positive progress over time.
Tan also believed that the free makeup programme helps young people with Down syndrome develop their social and communication skills, while nurturing their ability to live more independently in the future.
Meanwhile, Ooi Kah Biew, chairman of Sekolah Semangat Maju Batu Gajah, a non-profit special education school, said the school planned to add more classrooms in line with the growing number of students.
“We need more than RM40,000 for the extra classrooms. We will also introduce more skills to our students.
“Many of our students actually have skills, but their abilities often go unnoticed because most of them simply stay at home after returning from school. We do not want them to come to school just to learn basic things; we want them to acquire skills that can help them live independently,” he said, while also hoping for corporate support through donations and orders for the crafts made by their students. — Bernama
