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Saturday 30 June 2007

More phone calls... and the "tak makan saman" child...

OK, done with the tagging business, now back to my usual postings.

Actually after my NGO’s board meeting last Tuesday night, my task now is to call ALL my PLWHA clients to invite them to our Family Day outing due to be held on 5th August. Being the one with the most clients assigned looks like I’ve got to make the most calls! And the children attending the Family Day will mostly come from the families assigned to me.

I’ve already made a few calls. And some, coincidentally, so happened to call me these past few days. So I took the opportunity to tell them about the outing.

Jah is definitely coming: She had decided on that long before we decided on the date and venue!
Yah will be coming with her children: 1 adult + 4 children
Fuzi will also be coming with her children: 1 adult + 5 children
Zaki and Zainab will be coming with their 2 daughters: 2 adult + 2 children
Lily’s children will be coming with their new guardians and the guardian’s 2 kids: 2 adults + 6 children.

Yesterday I called Sha and Maria. Both sounded very keen and most likely they will be joining but will confirm by next week after they discuss with their respective husbands. If they do join, then there will be additional 2 adult + 2 children for Sha and 2 adults + 4 children for Maria.

That’s already 11 adults and 23 children – more than the total number of PLWHAs and children who joined us in last year’s family day. And I haven’t finished calling all my clients yet. I’ve still got to call Mrs. K, Nuri, Noni, Ifa and Ani. I do believe Mrs. K’s family would want to join.

You see, during last year’s Family Day, I didn’t have as many clients yet. And the ones already assigned to me couldn’t join for various reasons. Maria at that time just gave birth… Sha was heavily pregnant… Zainab had to work. The ones with many children were only assigned to me AFTER last year’s family day…. Yah, Fuzi, Mr. & Mrs. K, Lily…

Anyway, remember I said last Tuesday Yah called to tell me Angah got second in class? Well, yesterday, she called again. This time her eldest daughter, Kak Long, also insisted that Yah called me. You see, Kak Long too, got second in class! Yeah, I think they do expect presents from me…

I’m so happy for them! Despite all the difficulties the family had to face, the children did well in school. And since Yah has confirmed that she and her children will be joining the Family Day, I will congratulate the girls personally when I see them on that day.

But Yah’s son, Abang Chik, has problems in school. He never pays attention… he never listens… everything said to him goes in one ear and goes out the other. Class ends at 1.10 pm, by 1 pm he simply walks out of the class. Teacher calls him in; he’d still walk out as though he didn’t hear anything. He never does his homework no matter how you force him. His mother buys him pencils to use in school; he “donates” them to his friends, so he ends up with no pencil every alternate day. The school arranges for special classes for problematic students, he simply refuses to attend. You pull him into the class; he’ll just walk out again. The teachers are running out of ideas on what to do about him. His sisters got 2nd in their class, Abang Chik got first… from the bottom laa…

Abang Chik, if you remember, is in standard one this year: same with Angah. Initially they sat beside each other in the same class. But since Angah did well she was transferred to a better class.

Any of you had any experiences with children like Abang Chik? The tak makan saman type? Care to share tips?

6 comments:

J.T. said...

Looks like you have your hands full with this upcoming Family Day outing.

Congratulations to Kak Long too.

As for Abang Chik's behaviour, it sounds like he is looking for some kind of attention. But I will leave that to child experts. It is just an observation.

Pi Bani said...

JT,
Not just the children are excited about this family day - this big child here (yours truly lah) is just as excited!

Anyway, all Abang Chik wants to do is to play. Go out anywhere, and he'll ask for toys. Ask him what he wants to be when he grows up, and he'll say, "Drebar Treler." Now, how often do you hear a kid saying that when you ask about their ambition? :)

Cik Kiah said...

Could it be possible that Abg Chil may be suffering from some form of ADHD? Could try taking him to a paediatrician..

Pi Bani said...

Cik Kiah,
Well, Abg Chik does seem to be hyperactive. I may suggest to Yah to bring him along to see the pediatrician the next time she needs to bring her youngest child for checkup. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

If you gave presents to only the two sisters, I don't know if it would make him feel jealous or left out, though he didn't earn any rewards. He might feel that he is hopeless when he could not compete with his siblings.

Pi Bani said...

Anonymous,
Abg Chik jealous? Feel left out? I doubt it. All he wants are toys and more toys. You give him presents, if it's not a toy, he's not bothered. And I was careful when giving the present. They were given a storybook to SHARE amongst them. Even if I gave them one book each, Abg Chik would probably just give his to his sisters... or he'd "donate" it to any of his classmates... as he did with his pencils.