A Concert for the Disabled

On Saturday, April 17, 2010, my friends and I entertained the patients at the National Rehabilitation Center in Korea. Our strings trio consisted of two violins and a cello. We played three songs, two are Korean traditional songs (Doraji and Arirang) and one is a waltz by Johann Brahms. We were a little bit nervous when we started the concert.

At first, there were no audience members. We were performing alone in an empty room. However, one by one, patients came in to see

our performance. Just five minutes after we started, there were about thirty patients in the room. They were clapping, singing, crying, and some were dozing off. When we finished our performance, the patients and their family members applauded and left slowly.

My friends and I were very tired because we had to play the same pieces continuously for nearly thirty minutes. Fortunately, I felt that the patients were happy because they finally saw some kids recognize their isolation from society and come to perform for them. I also felt that next time we should prepare better with more Korean traditional songs since nearly all of the patients there are old men and women.

Helping my new friend

On Friday, March 26, 2010, I visited the National Rehabilitation Center in Korea (left image) for the first time. There, I thought that I was going to have a difficult time helping the handicaps. I took an entire bag just in case that I might need anything. In the bag, there was a water bottle, three books for teaching English to kids, and a large pencil case. I was extremely nervous when I entered the hospital. I waited for the head nurse to tell me what to do. After a couple of minutes, the head nurse introduced a boy just three years older than me.

He was extremely small because his muscles could not react to his growth spurts. Therefore, he had a seriously curved spine. His entire body kept shivering and he could not talk well. I was so shocked that I felt that he was half-dead. The head nurse put us in an enclosed room, shut the door, and left. I was still recovering from my shock and I did not know what to do. First, we just stared at each other. Next, we had short conversations. Then, we talked very much without stopping. Finally, I followed him everywhere he went.

While, I was with him, I felt that these people were no different than normal people. The only difference was that they had some disabilities. These handicaps had a pure heart and an encouraging mind, unlike the general belief of violent handicaps. Therefore, I promised to myself that I would help these people for my whole life.

About my blog

My blog “Enable & Rehabilitate” will focus on the rehabilitation of handicaps. The name stands for the caring and the rehabilitating of disabled people. I thought that many do not know about the situation these handicaps are in. They have serious neural diseases but nearly all of them do not have enough to support themselves. Therefore, I decided that I should raise awareness about these desperate handicaps. I will post my thoughts and some articles about handicaps and their part of the global community. Please enjoy my opinions and articles I will be posting. Thank you!