The Douglas Bader Walking School was officially opened in Kuala Lumpur in 2005 and still exists today!
David Bickers, Chairman of the Douglas Bader Foundation and son-in-law of Group Captain Sir Douglas Bader, attended the official opening of the Walking School in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the first Douglas Bader Walking School outside the UK, on the 13th June 2005.
“We first identified an opportunity to both help and highlight the plight of amputee disabled in Malaysia three years ago. Following meetings with the University of Malaysia Medical Centre and in particular with Associate Professor Dato’ Dr Zaliha Omar, Head of the Rehabilitation Unit and subsequently with HSBC Bank Malaysia Berhad, we have finally achieved our goal,” Mr. Bickers said today. “UMMC is most fortunate in being the recipient of the first Bader Walking School in Malaysia. The School will benefit various categories of patients who are learning or relearning to walk.”
The Medical Rehabilitation Unit manages 50,000 patients a year with a workload of 151,000 patient treatments. “More than half of them can benefit from activities in the Walking School,” commented Dr Zaliha Omar. “HSBC’s involvement in the walking school is part of the bank’s Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives. I hope that the bank’s contribution will make a difference to the lives of these patients, as they will now be able to access quality care with state-of-the-art facilities that are affordable at the UMMC Douglas Bader Walking School,” said Mr John Coverdale.
