Kapla ku pusing...

Some days I don't get any calls regarding my NGO work, some days the calls come in one after another.

Well, for the past 2 days, it seems most of the calls are regarding "my babies".

In my previous posting I mentioned about Baby K going for her heart op soon. Before she goes for her heart op, she was to undergo a minor dental surgery in Ipoh. Apparently it was done on Tuesday and the little girl was warded but Mrs K didn't call to inform me. My colleague was the one who informed me about it. When my colleague asked Mrs K why she didn't inform me about it, guess what she said?

"Tak beranilah kacau dia. Kak Zah tu garang." (in case you're wondering, no, nobody else calls me Kak Zah)

GARANG? MUAHAHA!!

Well, let it remain that way... I mean let her have that perception about me. With her history of trying to borrow money here and there, it's best if she thinks I'm garang. I think my earlier "lecture" to her about spending only on necessities must have had played a part.

We have not informed her that Buddies has approved a certain amount for her living expenses while in KL. I shall only give her the money nearer to the date. Knowing them, if they get the money now, they'd probably be spending it on other things and by the time they need to go to KL, they'd run out of money to even pay for their bus fares!

I met up with Anita and her baby yesterday. Kak Ana had brought them to Ipoh GH as Anita had defaulted the baby's earlier appointment (she went back to her home state then to get the necessary supporting documents for her IC). In addition to that, Kak Ana also just found out that Anita had finished her supply of ARV drugs and has not been taking her medication for more than 2 weeks already.

Not much problem with the baby as he was just supposed to get his blood tested to confirm that he is free from HIV. Tests so far showed that he is spared from the virus, but he will still be tested from time to time until he reaches 2 years of age.

But Anita kena sembur by SN for not being compliant with her ARV drugs. Hehehe... nasib badanlah... siapa suruh miss makan ubat...

That was yesterday. This morning a call came in from Anita's number. She then passed the call to Kak Ana who asked me about the boy's birth cert. Duh! She didn't know the boy's cert is not done yet! Kak Ana had actually brought Cek Mek and Anita's baby to the hospital for their immunisation and the nurses asked for the babies' birth certs.

After about half an hour or so, Kak Ana called again. This time to ask about Cek Mek. The nurses were asking for Cek Mek's immunisation card which according to them was supposed to have been given when the little girl was discharged from the hospital after birth. As far as I know, the only thing we got was a referral letter to transfer my Cek Mek's case to the hospital near Kak Ana's shelter home. I didn't dare confirm it though, as it was Puan Nur who took the baby and whatever documents from the pediatric ward when the little girl was discharged. I told the nurse (Kak Ana passed the phone to the nurse so she could speak direct to me) I'd have to confirm with Puan Nur and/or Sharifah first.

So yep, later this afternoon after 3 pm I called Puan Nur as I knew she usually finishes work at 3 pm. I didn't want to call Sharifah as I wasn't sure of her work shift. I didn't want to call her at work talking about her baby when her friends didn't even know she has one! Puan Nur didn't answer the phone. So I sent her a text message asking if there was any hospital card given when Cek Mek was discharged. She replied my message immediately saying there was no such thing given.

About 2 hours later another text message came from Puan Nur. She had checked with Sharifah and Sharifah confirmed that there was no immunisation card given. I decided to call Puan Nur's number. Sharifah answered the call... she just got home from work. Anyway, after confirming a few things, I told Sharifah that her baby has grown montel and is already beginning to recognise people. I told Sharifah to make it a point to visit her baby more often, otherwise the little girl may not feel comfortable with her own mother.

Before that, right after I sent a text message to Puan Nur, a call came in from a 03 number. I almost didn't answer as I thought it could be one of those telemarketing calls that have been irritating me a lot lately. But seeing that the number was not from central KL, I answered the call.

Thank goodness I did. The call came from an officer from JPN Putrajaya in response to the letter I sent earlier regarding Anita's MyKad. Yayyy, somebody's responded!

The lady told me to bring Anita to JPN Ipoh, fill in the necessary forms and submit together with the required supporting documents. She said by right there shouldn't have been any problems in the first place to get Anita's IC done (although her PR father cannot be contacted and her Singaporean mother is dead) but now that it is considered as late registration, there are additional documents we'd need to come up with. She asked why the IC was not done earlier... I couldn't really answer that. I've only known Anita just recently.

Whatever it is, the lady told me to register for the baby's birth cert first and not to worry about the mother's status or the citizenship of the baby. Just get the birth cert done. When Anita's case is settled, then we can apply to rectify the baby's birth cert to confirm his citizenship status.

My problem now is getting a supporting letter from someone who knows Anita and can confirm Anita's status. Who can I get from the list given by the JPN? Gurubesar? Anita tak sekolah. Ketua kampung? Aduh, Anita now stays at the shelter home... the ketua kampung there doesn't even know her.

We (that's Kak Ana and myself) will have to think of something. If a surat sumpah will do, then that's the easiest thing to do. Otherwise we may have to send Anita back to her hometown (in another state) again, and get her sister there to help her get the ketua kampung to sign the letter.

Ah well, at least I can start something already. But then again... aduh... kapla ku pusing...