JOHOR BARU: The Lord Mayor of London Alderman Alan Yarrow paid a visit to the Johor Area Rehabilitation Organisation (Jaro), here today ahead of his working visit to Kuala Lumpur.
The 64-year old Johor-born who spent six years of his childhood in the state, said he felt a rush of familiar smells and colours as he visited the charity organisation with his wife, Gilly Yarrow.
Yarrow's mother, Paula, had once volunteered at the organisation, when it previously dealt with the plight of tuberculosis patients in the 1940s and early 1950s.
JARO now provides skills training for the disabled and provides them with employment as the organisation members make handicraft, and provide book binding and tailoring services.
The Lord Mayor of London contributed £2,000 ( approximately RM11,000) to JARO, as he said helping charities which deal with people with disabilities meant a lot to him and his wife.
The couple's 34-year-old son, Max suffers from cerebral palsy.
"Some 900,000 of the 1.4 million population in England have disabilities. Of these, only seven per cent find employment. I want to help JARO as it also helps those with disabilities find jobs," he said.
Yarrow is also an avid supporter of Mencap and Scope – two UK-based charities that are close to his heart. He is also the vice-president of Mencap.
"Helping organisations such as JARO benefits the recipient as well as the giver," Yarrow said.
Yarrow was born at the Sultanah Aminah Hospital, which was formerly known as Johor Baru General Hospital, here.
Jaro chairman Datuk Jimmy Low Boon Hong said Jaro needs RM60,000 monthly to maintain the organisation which currently trains and employs 60 people with disabilities such as those vision-impairment, cerebral palsy, paraplegia as well as hearing and speech impairment.
Low said the federal government contributes RM50,000 while the state government contributes RM40,000 to the annual maintenance of JARO.