Never give up hope: Krishna Kumar (left) speaking to the trainees of a pastry training programme in Melaka.
MELAKA: Passion for teaching sees a 54-year-old teacher walk again after months of being bedridden and almost giving up hope of recovering.
Disabled B. Krishna Kumar stood confidently before 50 trainees of a pastry training programme sponsored by the Malaysian Indian Community Transformation Unit (Mitra) at Accelskill Academy in Jalan Hang Tuah, telling them he never imagined surviving the fall from a staircase in 2021.
Krishna Kumar said he suffered a serious spinal injury from a fall while giving tuition to a group of orphans.
“The fall left me immobilised for nine months. At times, I felt it was the end. I was bedridden for four months and continued to be wheelchair-bound for five months,” he said.
However, Krishna Kumar said his perseverance to teach again made him walk using a walking frame.
He said he faced unbearable pain when walking early this year, but his condition has improved.
“No matter what my condition, I’m sure I will continue teaching until my last breath,” he said.
Krishna Kumar, who has been semi-paralysed due to polio since childhood, started his career as a tuition teacher in 1989 and is now the general manager-cum-trainer under the Social Development Foundation (YPS), which manages courses jointly with the Prime Minister’s Department.
Since 2011, YPS has trained some 6,000 young women from the lower income group throughout the country with business and language courses and equipped them with new skills to earn supplementary household income.
Krishna Kumar, from Taman Sikamat, Seremban, started by giving free Bahasa Melayu and History tuition classes for secondary students from poor families before moving to Kuala Lumpur to teach the same subjects in a private institution.
In 2011, he was instrumental in setting up YPS, provided skill training for those who couldn’t afford it at private education institutions, and is one of the trainers at Accelskill.
The trainees, including housewives from all over the country, received certificates from Mitra’s social welfare director, Ivin Mercy Jayabalan.
CEO of Accelskill, K. Annadurai, was also present to celebrate Krishna Kumar’s return to the college after more than a year.
