KUALA LUMPUR: The Kuala Lumpur Women and Children Hospital (WCH), together with Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP), has started a reading programme to nurture and enlighten patients.
Hospital director, Dr Roniyuzam Abd Malek said among the objectives was to let children know that hospital is not just for treatment and to encourage them emotionally and physically by organising various programmes.
“We want to ensure patients can adapt themselves to situations where they may be disturbed or depressed due to the illnesses they are facing.
“This kind of programme will help the patientsto get their minds off things and reduce their stress,” he said.
Dr. Roniyuzam said the engagement of children with gadgets can also create a positive impact if it is used as a reading tool.
“Books are not the only way … there is also a digital platform called e-books that we have prepared for them,” he said.
The Dekad Bahasa Kebangsaan (DBK) movement is one of DBP’s efforts to broaden reading and language activities among the community, especially children.
Director of DBP Literature and Language Department Dr Hazami Jahari said the programme was a new collaboration with WCH and it will be introduced in stages.
“We will ensure all groups including children, adults and even senior citizens get involved in the reading culture as Kuala Lumpur was named as the World Book Capital of 2020 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco),” he said.
He said they were now developing new software to improve the reading level among the community.
Parents also welcomed this programme as they feel the reading culture should continue to be nurtured, especially since people were so drawn to gadgets or social media.
Safiah Asyikin Ahmad, 33, a teacher and mother of three, said she really enjoyed this programme as the kids did not waste their time waiting for treatment.
“I have a daughter who is six-years-old. This programme is really helpful and can reduce boredom. It also ensures children are not overly attached to their handphones,” she said.
On an unrelated matter, Dr Roniyuzam said WHC will initiate another project with DBP to develop the reality visual digital platform.
This will help children to understand what they were suffering from and the kind of treatment and medication involved.
This programme involves at least 50 children who will participate in colouring competitions, puzzles and puppet shows from DBP’s story telling groups.