Of all the gifts that life has to offer, a loving mother is the greatest of them all.
Dinah Teo Pei Fung may not be extraordinary but in her mother’s eyes, she is the most perfect child a mother could ever have. A regular child at birth, the 43-year-old client from Metta Day Activity Centre for the Intellectually Disabled suffered from intellectually disability from age two upon being stricken with a high fever that left to an episode of fits. The turn of events was a big blow to her parents, especially Dinah’s mother. Mdm Boey Yuet Siong. The condition affected Dinah’s motor skills all through her adulthood as she had difficulty with personal grooming and toileting. Mdm Boey became Dinah’s full-time caregiver as she cared for her daughter and never wavered.
Having lost her other daughter a few years ago. Dinah is now the only child and the apple of her parents’ eyes. Although Mdm Boey worries that there will come a day when she can no longer look after Dinah, she takes it one day at a time and continues to wholeheartedly teach and encourage her daughter to pick up new skills.
With limited knowledge and help, Mdm Boey eventually placed Dinah at Metta Day Activity Centre for the Intellectually Disabled in Hougang, the abode which Dinah would later call her second home, spending 26 years at the Centre. Enrolling Dinah at Metta was a good move on Mdm Boey’s part as the daily training and recreational activities helped Dinah to pick up on her motor skills and perform tasks that she was never able to handle before. Dinah took a long time but is now able to perform basic personal grooming and hygiene such as dressing herself, house cleaning duties such as sweeping and mopping the floor and keeping away utensils after she is done with her meal. In her spare time, Dinah enjoys simple table top games and listening to music to keep herself occupied. Mdm Boey is pleased with Dinah’s progress and has nothing but good words about Metta Day Activity Centre for the Intellectually Disabled and staff which she trusts wholeheartedly to care for her daughter.
