Do you know the power of emotional support, especially to children with disabilities?
Through Global Ehsan Relief Singapore’s Care for the Disabled project, we’re blessed with the opportunity to meet these extraordinary children, along with their strong families. Through our interactions, it’s clear that these families possess a strong level of resilience and patience.
Though it’s not just their parents who are offering these children emotional support – but also animals as well! Animals can offer an extraordinary amount of emotional support, and it’s not just the pet-owner relationship that many of us have experienced.
Animals are also used in therapeutic settings to help individuals navigate challenging emotional experiences. For instance, equine-assisted psychotherapy incorporates horses into the therapeutic process.
In Singapore, RDA (Riding for the Disabled Association) Singapore is one of the only charities locally that provides completely free Equine-Assisted Therapeutic sessions. This involves riding as well as other interaction activities. Through the activities, the individuals can improve their self-confidence, motor coordination and increase their capacity to form bonds and social relationships.
There are many different benefits of equine-assisted psychotheraphy, such as:
Emotional awareness
Social skills
Impulse control
Confidence
Trust and empathy
Problem-solving skills
And our team had personally heard about the benefits of these equine-assisted therapeutic sessions from our Care for the Disabled beneficiary, Arumi Syukri.
During our last visit in July 2023, we were warmly welcomed by Syukri’s parents. Syukri, 10, is the middle child and has autism. Currently Syukri is schooling at AWWA. Since July this year, he is currently going through equine-assisted therapeutic sessions with RDA every Saturday for 10 sessions. His fourth session was cut short due to a meltdown but in general, his parents shared how he is enjoying the sessions.
Besides his equine-assisted therapeutic sessions, Syukri is also benefitting from our Care for the Disabled hampers. He is still using diapers on a daily basis and this takes a huge toll on the family’s expenditure as he uses up to four packs in a month.
“Thank you so much to Global Ehsan Relief for the help, it has helped us a lot,”
Mr Sunardi, Father or our Care for the Disabled beneficiary
The financial aid of $100 is utilised by Mr Sunardi and wife to buy Syukri’s diapers. We were very happy to hear Syukri’s progress and prayed for the best for Syukri’s wellbeing.