LANGKAWI: "Disability is not a barrier for me to obtain a professional diving license," said Nahla Ab Rahim, a Person with Disability (PwD) who has suffered from cerebral palsy (CP) since birth.
The 33-year-old from Putrajaya obtained a scuba diving license two years ago and is quite excited to go scuba diving, as it is the best therapeutic method for her congenital disorder.
"As a CP sufferer, I also make the diving activity as a mental therapy because being underwater feels like entering a new world.
"However, I still need an escort who is skilled in adaptive techniques when diving," she said when met after being a model at the Special Adaptive Techniques Training Program at The Cottage here, today.
Nahla, the youngest of three siblings said she obtained the extreme sports license to ward off sceptical views of some people who often looked down on the ability of PwDs.
"To get a license, the test is the same as others and I managed to prove that we, the disabled people, can succeed like normal people if given the opportunity in any field including extreme sports," she said.
Nahla said she used to be a government employee for 10 years but quit after being ridiculed by her ex-colleagues.
She then decided to continue her studies in early childhood education at the Open University of Malaysia.
The two-day Special Adaptive Techniques Training Program organised by the non-governmental organisation (NGO) DiveHeart Malaysia and the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) was attended by 15 staff from the Rehabilitation Medicine Department of the University of Malaya Medical Center and four Langkawi Scuba Club coaches.
DiveHeart Malaysia Ambassador and Founder of the Children's Scuba Diving Center, Syed Abdul Rahman Syed Hassan said, the objective of the programme is to help the disabled participate in diving through the appropriate procedures.
"DiveHeart is a non-profit organisation based in Chicago, USA and it specifically aids people with disabilities in scuba diving activities," he said.