THEY WILL ASK thee as to what they should spend on others. Say: "Whatever of your wealth you spend shall [first] be for your parents, and for the near of kin, and the orphans, and the needy, and the wayfarer; and whatever good you do, verily, God has full knowledge thereof." - Al-Baqarah (2:215)
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Friday 21 September 2007

A present from the children

I wasn't in the mood to post anything for the past 2 days. Poor Nurin's case really made me lose my mood to write anything.

But continue with my work I must. Nurin is at a better place now... but other kids need my attention. Yep, in my case, the HIV infected/affected kids.

I promised Yah I'd meet her at the hospital today. She came to get this month's supply of medication and wanted to meet up with me as well. So I told her to wait at the usual place between 12 to 12.30 pm.

When I got there I saw Yah carrying a big box nicely wrapped. Her eldest daughter tagged along. When they got in the car I asked whose present it was. At first I thought she was kidding when she said, "Untuk kakak lah." Huh? For me? Then she said, "Budak-budak pesan... depa suruh bagi hadiah ni kat makcik."

Apparently her kids, particularly the 2 older girls (9 and 7) had been saving for some time their daily school pocket money to buy me a present. Of course their mother had to top up a bit. Whatever the occasion was I don't know but I felt guilty at first. I would have been happy if they just made their own card and wrote something sweet. They could have used the money to buy something for themselves yet they chose to buy something for me. But then I figured if giving me a present makes them happy and excited, oh then, whaddaheck! Just accept the present and make them happy! :)

Well, I couldn't take them for lunch today (puasa lah!!) so I sent them straight to the bus station. But even during the short drive from the hospital to the bus station I managed to get some updates from Yah.

Yah had put aside part of her EPF drawings into ASB. She had to use part of it to repair her house. You see, recently during a rainstorm, a big papaya tree fell onto the kitchen and so the house needed some major repairs. Being the resourceful type, she went to see the YB for her area and managed to get the YB to sponsor half of the repairs.

She's also using some of the money for income generating purposes. She's renting a piece of land (a paddy field to be exact) and will work on the paddy field. No doubt the income will come later but at least she's already thinking long term.

That was about all the update I could get from Yah today. She was in a hurry. She said she needed to stop by a friend's place on the way back before going home. At this point, her 9 year old daughter who tagged along said, "Mak jumpa kawan tu nanti lama ke? Kalau lama nanti bagi kak long sepuluh ringgit, kak long balik sendiri." THAT of course drew immediate response from me, what with Nurin's case still very much in my mind. I told her she must NEVER go back alone! No doubt she felt it was no big deal... she knows what bus to take and she knows where to get down. What she doesn't know is the danger lurking around!

Anyway when I got home in the afternoon I opened the present. The children actually bought me a table lamp clock - minus the bulb. I will have to get the light bulb myself lah...

Later after my zuhur prayer, I went out again. This time to little Boboy's place. His guardians sought my help to fill some forms to ask for financial aid from MAC and so off I went with some Raya goodies for the kids. Boboy looks much better ever since he started taking his HIV medication. When asked what he wants to do when he grows up, he said, "Nanti Boboy dah besar Boboy nak kawin." Oh dear... you cute little boy...

While I was at their place I received an SMS from Zainab. She said her elder daughter (5 year old) had just been warded for kidney problems. Oh dear, oh dear... now I susah hati again...

Will try to visit the little girl at the hospital tomorrow. It was getting late so I had to go home. Got home, went into my bedroom and saw the clock, and remembered Yah's children... sejuuuuk hati...

Ahh, thank you kids. You made my day...

20 comments:

winniethepooh said...

so sweet of Yah's kids :) its true, when people give us a present, the least we can do is accept it gracefully, for it definitely makes them happy that we appreciate their tots (yeah i know we will nag say aiya dun waste money etc etc etc..but its such a downpour on their giving spirit hehehe)

Glad that Yah is such a good long term thinker, things are looking good isnt it? happy for her.

Hope that nothing's too serious for Zainab's daughter, medication can control her situation? I cant imagine if she has to go for dialysis, will be a dreadful tot...

take care Pi Bani!

Salt N Turmeric said...

how sweeeeeeet of them! cantik jugak lampu tu. ;)

its good to hear abt ppl who thinks outside the box like 'Yah'. eventho she had to fork out some money to repair the kitchen, shes also smart to seek help fr the YB. i mean, thts wht the gov is for kan?

Pi Bani said...

Winnie,
I sure hope the condition of Zainab's daughter is not too serious. Will update the blog when I get more info later.

Have a nice weekend, Winnie!

Pi Bani said...

Princessjournals,
Sweet sangat kan? Cair I dibuat dek budak-budak ni... :)

Anyway, yeah, Yah is quite resourceful and independent. She may be small in built, but I tell you she's one tough lady!

J.T. said...

Hi Pi

These are the kind of gifts one appreciates so much. That was so sweet of Yah's kids to give you something. They clearly have you in their hearts and minds. They appreciate and love you.

I am happy that Yah knows how to handle some matters on her own. She's one tough lady, as you said.

Pi Bani said...

JT,
Yes, this one is so so meaningful. Now every time I look at it I am reminded of them. Hmmm... good strategy by the children... ;)

Anonymous said...

It's good to be appreciated:)
Selamat berpuasa.

Nightwing said...

Good one. To them, u r more then a fren, u r an Angel among them.

Ya, Nurin's case really something..Agree, must never leave children alone.

Hope the police is really on the case. And if ever bring it to court...they better don;t mess it up.

Pi Bani said...

Hazia,
Yes of course, it always feel good to be appreciated. :)

Pi Bani said...

Nightwing,
Yeah, Nurin's case is really something, isn't it? Sure hope the beast will be caught soon.

Most of the kids I'm dealing with are around Nurin's age...

Kerp (Ph.D) said...

betul la kak Pi. i didnt feel like writing much with nurin's news blanketed every single news sources. liat betul nak turn the computer on.

and in the wake of nurin's case, u did the right thing by telling yah's daughter never ever to go anywhere alone. better late than sorry.

Pi Bani said...

Kerp,
Takde mood dibuatnya kan?

I'm quite concerned about my PLWHA clients because being poor and many of them single moms, sometimes they have to depend on their eldest child to carry out certain responsibilities including going to the shop to buy things. And the eldest child tu baru 9 years old. How like that?

kina said...

I memang patah hati betul after the DNA was confirmed to be of Nurin's.

I remembered the nite I told my husband that the lil girl in the bag must be one cute girl, with such long lashes and all.

Anyway, strategy yang sungguh berjaya by Yah's kids! Good to hear that Yah is doing well.

Till then

Unknown said...

KakPi..sungguhlah KakPi ibarat penyuluh hidup mereka..simbolik sungguh makna hadiah tu...

Alhamdulillah, Yah can think so far...to generate her own income...I pray that she achieves what she aims...

Hopefully there's nothing to worry about Zainab's daughter, kak.. or is there?

Pi Bani said...

Kina,
I think the whole nation (except those yang memang takde hati perut) memang sedih sangat-sangat with the brutality that Nurin had to endure before her death.

Nasib baiklah ada anak-anak Yah dok hiburkan hati I... :)

Pi Bani said...

RG,
Tak terfikir pulak I ke situ. And I doubt budak-budak tu pun fikir macam tu... :)

As for Zainab's daughter, I went to visit on Saturday, they were still waiting for the results of the blood and urine tests.

Pak Zawi said...

Pi,
I just hopped from j.t's blog and now I can feel the meaning of value in a gift as shown by these children of Yah to you. Can't imagine how they managed to save up to buy that gift which is considerably expensive for them.
If only those scoundrels stop plundering the nation's wealth, so much fund can be allocated to help these needy people to survive another day. But alas, its only whimsical thinking.

Kerp (Ph.D) said...

only 9 and already shouldering such responsibility. its catch-22 so nak tak nak bertawakal je lah. but can always remind her to be more alert of the surrounding.

Pi Bani said...

Zawi,
I am also amused that the kids managed to save to buy the gift for me. I'm sure Yah herself had to top up whatever difference, but still... it must have taken quite an effort by the kids. Memang terharu dibuatnya!

And yes, IF ONLY...

Pi Bani said...

Kerp,
I guess for families like these, we can only teach them what to do and what not to do. And hope that the public will also help to look after them instead of branding the parent as irresponsible.