  1998 BOLD was launched with funding from the Penang State Government. Our first focus was awareness and outreach through talks and workshops. Starting with "Learning To Learn" series of workshops by Brother John D'Cruz, 12 more talks/workshops were held throughout the year on topics such as Dyslexia, Speech Development, Maths Can Be Fun, Multiple Intelligences, Brain Gym and Techniques Of Teaching Bahasa Malaysia. 1999 We started a series of meetings with parents and children to better understand their needs. BOLD produced the first edition of Infosheets on ADD/ADHD in English. British Council sponsored a visit by Ms Pamela Deponio from Edinburgh, Scotland. Ms Deponio conducted a week long training course on Dyslexia for teachers and a half day workshop for parents. Dyslexia became a major focus of work for BOLD. 2000 BOLD began working closely with the Education Department of Penang - with talks on Dyslexia to Education Department officials and several schools in Penang.
2001 BOLD produced the first edition of Infosheets on Dyslexia - in 4 languages. Infosheets on ADD/ADHD translated into Malay, Chinese and Tamil. BOLD was invited to participate in a series of workshops on Multiple Intelligences, organized by the Curriculum Development Unit of the Ministry Of Education. We began our first intervention program - 8 volunteers engaged 9 children in one-on-one weekly sessions, using play to stimulate development. This program continued until 2006 when it changed to Play Group mode. 2002 BOLD together with SERI conducted the Study On Learning Difficulties Among Standard 1 Pupils in Penang with funding from Penang State Government. Survey covered 13,332 students from 121 schools, representating 50% of all Standard 1 children in the state. 9.41% (or 1,254 students) were identified as having learning difficulties of various types. Copies of the study are available from SERI and BOLD's Resource Centre. 2003 BOLD's major focus was the Pilot Intervention Project which was funded by Canadian Fund for Local Initiatives, with additional support from the Penang State Government and Penang Education Department. 21 volunteers were specially trained to work as learning Support for 43 children in 10 primary schools in the state. All the children showed significant progress though the Pilot Project lasted for only 12 weeks. As part of the project, 3 other volunteers ran a Therapeutic Playgroup for 8 children from 2 children's homes. The experience gained from the Pilot Project helped BOLD to identify intervention programs in the next few years. 2004 PSDC pledged an annual grant for BOLD which enabled us to expand our work. We recruited our first full-time staff - Ms Leong Min See, a qualified Play Therapist, trained in United Kingdom. Play Therapy became a major part of BOLD's intervention services. 23 talks/workshops on a wide range of topics were organized throughout the year. In a follow-up to the 2003 Pilot Project, BOLD personnel trained 3 volunteers to start a Learning Support Program at Sekolah Kebangsaan Bayan Baru, working closely with the headmistress and remedial teacher of the school. The volunteers ran the program for the next 3 years, helping small groups of children with reading difficulties each year. 7 BOLD volunteers started weekly sessions in 2 Children's Homes, providing Learning Support to Children with Learning Difficulties in the homes. This program continued for the next 3 years. BOLD initiated another Pilot Project with the cooperation of the Special Education Unit of the Penang Education Department. 2 teams of Occupational Therapists (from Hospital Pulau Pinang and Hospital Seberang Jaya) made fortnightly visits to 5 Special Classes. They identified the specific needs of children with motor coordination problems, worked on upgrading the skills of the teachers of the Special Classes. The objective was to establish a model of collaboration in which specialized personnel from Ministry Of Health can enhance skills and services for Children with Special Needs. This Pilot Programs continued into 2005. From 2005, the Penang State Government provided BOLD with additional funding to support our intervention Programs. 2005 Funding from Wawasan Education Foundation enabled BOLD to recruit its second full-time staff - Mr Tan Kien Hooi. Under Mr Tan's leadership, the Learning Support Program is revised to become BOLD's Focus On Literacy Program. Mr Tan trained a group of 6 volunteers recruited by Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan (Tamil) Mak Mandin Headmaster. The 6 volunteers began teaching students with reading difficulties in Tamil, using materials specially developed under Mr Tan's guidance. 5 of the 6 volunteers have continued working at this school for the past 4 years. In 2005, 11 volunteers helped children with learning difficulties in 2 schools and 2 Children's Homes, 12 volunteers ran Play Therapy or Play Intervention Sessions, and 3 volunteers ran a Therapeutic Playgroup. 2006 BOLD realized its vision of 2 Activity Centres. PSDC funding supports a centre on the island and funds from Pertubuhan Bunga Tanjung support a centre in Seberang Jaya. With the Activity Centres as our base, BOLD's Intervention Programs became more focused. 4 intervention programs target children of different ages, with different kinds of Special Needs. Play Therapy expanded under Ms Leong's leadership with recruitment and training of 4 volunteers, Play Intervention was re-organized as Play Group; Focus On Literacy grew with a new group of volunteers at Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaaan (Cina) Min Sin. A fourth initiative - Transition To School - was tried this year. Workshops to recruit and train volunteers were organized and outreach talks to schools continued to be part of BOLD's regular activities. BOLD co-organized an 8 week Family Link Education Program on AD/HD with Psychiatry Department of Hospital Pulau Pinang. BOLD was one of 20 co-organizers of Malaysia's First National Early Childhood Intervention Conference (NECIC) held in Penang in November. The 3-day conference was attended by 358 delegates, comprising parents, teachers, practitioners, policy makers. Dr Tan Liok Ee, BOLD Chairperson, was the Chairperson of the organizing committee of the conference. The Conference adopted a Memorandum on Early Childhood Intervention that was presented to the Malaysian Government. (see Attachments) 2007 Some additional funding from Penang State Government enabled BOLD to organize a special program - Continuing Personal and Professional Development - a series of workshops by Mr Alex Chew, consultant and trainer from united Kingdom who has been BOLD's Play Therapy Program Adviser and Supervisor. Ms Leong Min See and Ms Priscilla Ho attended UNICEF course on Coping With Trauma. This followed from Ms Leong's earlier participation in training Ministry Of Health staff in therapeutic skills for working with children who have experienced trauma, in the aftermath of the December 2004 Tsunami. Ms Leong and Mr Brandon Leong, BOLD's Assistant Program Coordinator, were selected for a 3 week exchange program funded by Japan Foundation For Children's Future. 2008 BOLD was registered as a society. Staff, volunteers, and committee members met for 10 year review and strategic planning for future. In 2008, 28 children attended our Playgroup sessions; 18 families benefited from our Transition To School Program; 73 children attended Focus On Literacy Programs in various locations, including 40 who attended our Holiday Literacy Camps. Play Therapy touched the most number of children - 267 in all. This included 150 children in Hospital Pulau Pinang where a group of Play Therapy volunteers conduct weekly play sessions. The highlight of 2008 was Creative Arts Therapy Week - a series of workshops and training programs conducted by Sue Jennings, internationally renowned writer, trainer and practitioner from the United Kingdom. BOLD was one of the co-organizers of the 2nd National Early Childhood Intervention Conference, held in Kota Kinabalu in November. 2009 BOLD began a
partnership arrangement with Asia Community Service (ACS), another NGO in
Penang that has worked with children and persons with Special Needs. First Step
Early Intervention Program becomes the first joint ACS-BOLD project. First Step becomes available at ACS's new centre
in Jalan Pemancar as well as in Pusat BOLD-Bunga Tanjung, serving more children
and providing easier access for families on the island as well as mainland.  ACS First Step Centre 227 Jalan Pemancar, 11700 Penang Telephone: +604-658 5396 BOLD was one of 5 co-organizers of the First Families Connecting with Family Conference, held in Penang in June. 111 participants attended the 3 day conference which brought families of Children with various Disabilities and Special Needs together. Special programs were organized for the children to enable full participation by their parents in conference sessions. BOLD was one of the co-organizer of the first World Mental Health Day held in Penang on October 10, an important event in raising public awareness on the importance of mental health issues affecting both adults and children. Other special projects in 2009 included:-
2010 The ACS-BOLD partnership grew with 2 more
joint projects - Inclusion of Children with Special Needs and
Respite Care.
4 issues of “The Inclusive Link”, a newsletter in English and Chinese, were distributed free to ALL kindergartens. The objective is to promote inclusion by providing key information and practical suggestions on how Children with Special Needs can be included in typical kindergarten settings. (see Attachments) An experienced staff visited 9 kindergartens to assist staff and parents in the inclusion process. Respite Care was launched in March. This new program, located in Pemancar House, serves families who are caring for a child with a disability by offering them the time to take a break, run important errands, or enjoy some quality time with other family members. BOLD’s regular intervention programs reached over 400 Children with Special Needs. First Step, a joint project with ACS, had 40 children in Glugor and 30 in Seberang. Focus on Literacy helped 95 children progress in reading: 24 in BOLD’s 2 centres, 22 at SJKT Mak Mandin, 9 at SJKC Min Sin and 11 at Than Hsiang Kindergarten. 17 children benefitted from BOLD’s weekly Play Group sessions and 12 families benefitted from our Family Support Program. Play Therapy had 31 children in one on one sessions, 60 children and 14 teenagers in therapeutic group sessions, and counseling for 11 parents. Weekly visits to the Paediatric Nephrology and Oncology Ward of the Penang General Hospital touched another 105 children. 6 in-service workshops were organized to upgrade knowledge and skills of staff and team members while 7 workshops targeted parents and teachers. 2 Creative Counseling Skills Series enriched the skills of teachers, counselors and para-counselors. As part of our advocacy work, team members gave talks or workshops at 8 schools and/or educational institutions. BOLD was co-organizer of World Play Day and World Mental Health Day in Penang. We joined other Penang NGOs in the Kempen Rakyat Pulau Pinang, a public awareness campaign to prevent Sexual Crimes against Children. Finally, we continued our role as one of the co-organizers of the National Early Childhood Intervention Conference – the 3rd Conference was held in Melaka from 2-4 December 2010. 2011 February 2011 The momentum of BOLD intervention programs was maintained from end 2010 to beginning 2011 with hardly a break. Except for public holidays, Play Therapy sessions did not stop. The number of children coming for individual sessions has increased to 25 this month. Visits to the chronically ill children at the Penang Hospital continued uninterrupted on a weekly basis. Play Group for 3-5 year olds with developmental issues picked up from the first week of January with 12 children attending regularly. An additional group to meet the need for this service will be started on 12 March. The Focus on Literacy team took January off after their intensive work on the 4 week Literacy Camp in November-December 2010 when 2 hr sessions were conducted every single day for 4 weeks. The camp benefitted 19 children at the PSDC Centre and another 10 at BOLD’s mainland centre. On 7 February, teaching sessions started again for 8 children at the Centre. This will increase to 13 children next month. March 2011 All four of BOLD’s regular intervention services are running full steam. Play Group for 3-5 year olds runs two afternoons a week, with 11 children coming on Saturdays and 5 coming on Thursdays. Focus on Literacy added a special one week intensive program during the March school holidays for 16 children, aged 6 to 12. 3 families met with an Occupational Therapist under the Family Support Program – to have their children assessed and individual intervention programs planned. The Play Therapy section is conducting individual therapy sessions, weekly visits to the Penang Hospital and a Social Group for 8 Children with Special Needs at our mainland centre. In addition, BOLD volunteers helped out at a special Holiday Respite Program, during the March school holidays, for 14 children. Respite Care, co-organized with Asia Community Services, offers a much needed, but as yet unavailable, service to parents/ families of children with disabilities in Penang. Respite Care gives families the time to do essential things for themselves, to rest and recuperate, and is essential when they face emergencies in the family. April 2011 In addition to our regular intervention programs, BOLD keeps up a stream of workshops, meetings and awareness work. 9 April was a particularly active day - BOLD staff gave a talk on “Dyslexia and Teaching Methods for Dyslexic children” to teachers of SMK Berapit; we co-organized a whole day Workshop by a visiting Speech Therapist on “Talking Mats”, a tool to assist communication in a wide range of situations; and facilitated a parents meeting at Pusat BOLD-PSDC. BOLD works closely with other organizations in training and awareness work. On 29 March, our Play Therapist assisted Psychiatric Unit of Penang Hospital to conduct a whole day workshop on “Bereavement Counselling” for 80 doctors and nursing staff of Hospital Seberang Jaya. As one of the NGOs supporting the ongoing Kempen Rakyat to “Prevent Sexual Violence Against Children”, we have played an active part in several Kempen events.
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