Youth touched by paralysed senior citizen's plight

By Olivia Miwil- March 18, 2018 @ 11.04am.

PENAMPANG: A paralysed septuagenarian here is now living in relative comfort thanks to a group of enterprising and selfless youngsters.

Joseph Juanis Miat, 75, suffered a mishap two months ago while in Donggongon town near here and has since been left a paraplegic.

His only relative, younger brother Conrad, 68, decided to move Joseph to his own house in Kampung Madsiang here – but the facilities proved to be inadequate.

“We had to keep him on the ground floor, as it is closer to the bathroom, which is on the same level.

“But the space is open, and Joseph was always being bitten by mosquitoes, even though we put mosquito coils around him at night,” he said, adding that Joseph was also subject to the weather and pollution, as the home is by the roadside.

Conrad, who was assisted by his wife and three grown children in taking care of his brother, was concerned over the latter’s situation. But that’s when the group of youngsters stepped in.

The 25 youth – from the Junior Chamber International (JCI) Penampang, Lintas and Kota Kinabalu; Gen Y; Lions Club of Kota Kinabalu Centennial; and United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut organisation (Upko) Natural Disasters Bureau – had heard of Joseph’s plight, and resolved to help him.

Together, they helped build an attachment to Conrad’s house – a room on the ground floor for Joseph, complete with a reclineable bed and other necessities.

Chairman of Gen Y, Douglas Valentino, said each group member chipped in to finance the project, and together with donations, they managed to collect about RM10,000 to build the room.

“We were informed by local leaders here about Joseph’s plight and initiated the project to ease the burden of his caregivers.

“This year, the group has helped 15 people who needed assistance from us,” he said, adding that even a wheelchair-bound volunteer lent a hand to building Joseph’s room.