Clarissa Chung had the privilege of interviewing Kevin Wong and Yvonne Leong from SMACC 1 who have three children: Wesley, 8, Sydney, 5, and Casey, 2. Wesley has global developmental delay, a condition in which he is delayed in various aspects of his development.
For the past six years, Wesley has been attending a special needs school, an Early Intervention Programme (EIP) that is run by Petaling Jaya Evangelical Free Church (PJEFC). Kevin and Yvonne admit that there are additional considerations they have to take into account in their care of Wesley.
“Life has been different, there are certain things that he’s unable to do, and that sometimes restricts the places that we can go,” Kevin explains.
Yet, Kevin and Yvonne are emphatic that their family life is not so different from that of others.
“Caring for him has not been any different from caring for our other children. They all have different demands and needs. It’s a matter of recognising what his needs are, and how we can provide for him,” Yvonne says.
Kevin admits that it was more challenging for the family during the early years of the diagnosis, but also says that the support that they receive from others is invaluable.
“The first layer of support that we have is our immediate family. Proximity-wise they are close, so we get a lot of support in terms of babysitting. Not only for Wesley but our other two kids as well,” Kevin says.
“We got to know people who have differently abled children. People with whom you can launch into medical jargon and who can understand you,” adds Yvonne.
The Church family plays an important role in encouraging them to grow in Christ.
“We try to see how we can best use the situation for His Glory. We have received a lot of support from the Church family, and that has helped us in our spiritual maturity and in the way we look at things.”
“We fell into a random situation. But we believe in God’s sovereignty, which has a purpose,” Kevin says.
Kevin and Yvonne spoke about how everyone faces unique challenges because we live in a fallen world. As Christians, they see their circumstances as opportunities to be good witnesses of the Gospel of Grace.
As a Church, we must heed Paul’s call to “contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality” (Romans 12:13). Moved by God’s own love for us, let us be moulded into a Christlike community that will care for the different needs of all children in our church family.
How can we help?
- By supporting the families of these kids as caregivers are often exhausted physically, mentally, and emotionally.
- By looking out for these kids on Sundays and showing them love and kindness.
- By being flexible in our programmes and structures and being as inclusive as possible for these kids.