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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Wednesday 19 September 2007

Ramadhan House Visit #1

I had initially wanted to visit Fuzi first for my Ramadhan house visit this year. But given Mrs. K’s present situation, I decided to visit her children first. Fuzi is at least getting some contributions coming in already, so she’s not in such a desperate situation.

Mrs. K on the other hand had to take unpaid leave for almost a month now to take care of her husband. Mr. K seem to be getting weaker and according to the doctors, will need to be monitored at the hospital for another month or so. Which means she’s not getting any income this month and may not be getting any income for the next month as well. From other sources? Zilch. Her children who had been left at home to fend for themselves are running out of food to eat for sahur and buka puasa. Today Mrs. K rushed home to figure out something for the children.

Yesterday I went shopping. With the amount of stuff I had to load into my car, I might as well put a sign on my car door… “Pi Bani Grocery Delivery” :) . I bought stuff for 3 families first. Will have to buy more later. Right after shopping for the stuffs yesterday, I unloaded them all at my NGO centre. I didn’t want to bring all those things in my car when I went to my office this morning!

So, today just before going to Mrs. K’s house, I had to go back to my NGO centre to load back some of the stuff into my car - rice, flour, sugar, cooking oil, margarine, bread, canned food, dried food, milo, milk powder, diapers… and oh, I made sure I bought some buka puasa stuff for today. Today I bought them nasi ayam. Thank goodness Shah and his 12 year old sister helped me to unload the things when I got to their house.

Shah earlier on had to miss school to take care of his younger siblings. Right after UPSR was over, his 12 year old sister took over so that Shah could go back to school. His sister had explained her situation to her class teacher and so her absence from school after UPSR is with her teacher’s knowledge.

Mrs. K asked for my opinion on the prospect of the family moving to Ipoh and rent the MBI flats. She always seems to seek my opinion first before the family decides on anything. Apparently she heard from a friend about the cheap rental rate of the flats. Yes, my colleague and I know about it too but all the while we didn’t suggest to the family to move to Ipoh as Mrs. K had a job near the house they are currently staying at.

Mrs. K said she can always find another job in Ipoh. There are so many supermarkets and hypermarkets around. As a matter of fact, she had already asked if there was any vacancy at the hospital and was told she could start anytime if she was willing to work night shift as one of the security guards.

It will also be good for Shah if the family moves to Ipoh. It will be easier to get him a place for Aliran Kemahiran at one of the Sekolah Teknik.

It will also be much easier for them to go for hospital appointments, and not forgetting, it will also be easier for me to visit them…

Okay, so my next task is to find out more on how to apply for one of the MBI flats and then help the family apply for one.

p/s

To the donor who sent some goodies to be sent to the 3 families... I have already sent Mrs. K's today.

14 comments:

IBU said...

Salam ramadhan kak pi,

Hmm... perhaps it's worth to explore part or full time job opportunities for those willing and able-bodied in & around 'our' ipoh outlets? what say you?

pearly said...

chegu Pibani;
gosh sori to hear such a young gurl got to look after the family and not be able to go to skol I thougth in malaysia now the state will look after them very well .
you are super run around to help all those poor family , I got to say you done a very great job to help them ,.
when I retire back to malysia I will give you a helping hand promise I will xxxxxx

Lightnur said...

Assalamualaikum Pi Bani,

May Allah help you and give you the strength to help the needy during this Ramadan. Ameen.

I am so envy with the opportunities you got for doing good works especially in this blessed month.

May Allah reward you with good abundantly and encourage us to help other in needs. Ameen.

Pi Bani said...

Ibu,
Ya tak ya jugak... who should they contact, ya?

Pi Bani said...

Pearly,
There are some "forgotten" cases like Mrs. K's. Just because they "look" okay, people tend to think they don't need help.

Looking forward to meeting you one day, Pearly.

Pi Bani said...

Lightnur,
It is indeed an opportunity for me to be able to help the needy. Some donors contribute the money while I contribute the time and energy. I hope Allah will give me good health and the energy to continue doing this work. Amin.

winniethepooh said...

hope that all will go well the family and be able to move to Ipoh.

you take good care too PiBani and hv a good week ahead!

Anonymous said...

Hurrah for Pi Bani Grocery Delivery!!! :D
-niasulaiman-

Pi Bani said...

Winnie,
I sure hope so too. Hopefully by the end of the year there is something more concrete for them.

Pi Bani said...

Niasulaiman,
Hurrah indeed... my neighbour ada sekali tu terkejut tengok my car full of diapers and milk powder - she must be wondering who they were for...

J.T. said...

So glad to know that Mrs K is smart enough to figure out what is good for her family and resourceful enough to scout for job opportunities.

I hope things work out for the whole family in Ipoh. Those children need to be in school. She needs money to feed the family.

Pi Bani said...

JT,
I am so glad she wants to move to Ipoh. Makes things so much easier not just for me but for their family as well. Besides, they seem to want to start afresh and Mr.K wants to move to a place where people don't know his past drug history. Should be good for the kids too to start afresh.

Daphne Ling said...

Hi Kak Pi,

'Pi Bani Grocery Delivery' huh? Eh, nowadays can make lotsa money on this oh...Ask Pizza Delivery and McD! =)

Ah...Good, they move to Ipoh...Which is the MBI flats by the way? Near the hospital? Easy lar then...Anderson school, hospital and home all together!

Happy Fasting, Kak Pi!

Pi Bani said...

Daph,
Can make lotsa money only IF I charge for the deliveries lah. My kind of delivery mana ada charge... how to make money like that?

Yep, trying to apply for the flats near the hospital. Very convenient for everybody including me!