When I first started blogging way back in 2007, I had quite a handful of problematic cases to share. Some names (not real names, of course, although their stories were real) appeared quite frequently in my blog postings. To those who had been following my blog when blogging was still the "IN" thing (now most of my blog friends are no longer updating their blogs but we are following each other on facebook), names like Fuzi, Yah, Lin, Sofie would probably sound very familiar.
It is now 2018, 11 years since I started blogging. So, what happened to those who had been some of the main characters in my blog postings?
For certain cases, I lost contact with their families after my clients passed away. One such case was Lily, whose youngest son, Boboy, then only 5 years of age, was sent to a shelter home for HIV+ children after Lily died. His 3 older sisters however, were taken care of by their uncle. Although I told the uncle Buddies would still help out with the children's educational needs, he no longer contacted me after he sent the youngest boy to a shelter home, separated from his sisters. I don't know what has become of Boboy. He should be a big boy now.
Then there was Sofie, whose family I used to visit without fail on a monthly basis due to Sofie's weak condition. After Sofie passed away, her sister who took over as guardian to the children, moved back to their kampung in another state. I then lost contact with them. But I did search for the children's names on facebook, and managed to find 3 of them, and am glad to note they are doing okay now despite the problems they had earlier.
Recently under an event organised by Pertubuhan Wanita Prihatin Perak (PWPP), of which I am also a committee member, one young girl who was a staff of one of the exhibitors at the event, approached me and asked if I still remembered her. Then I realised she was actually Lin's daughter. Lin too at one time had to face so many problems, especially with 6 children who were all still studying back then. Now all of the children are working. The girl who approached me during the recent event, is Lin's 3rd daughter. I even went to her wedding, and her older sister's wedding too, before Lin & I both lost each other's phone numbers. Thanks to the girl, we are now back in touch with each other. I don't really have to follow up on Lin's family anymore as the family is totally independent now.
Another family already independent is Aini's. Her eldest daughter, who graduated with a diploma from a polytechnic, had been working for a few years already, and is already able to buy herself a car to bring her mother for appointments etc. Aini's 2 younger boys, although they didn't too well academically, obtained certs from their vocational training, enabling them to get good jobs as well.
Earlier today, after visiting a new client, I went to visit Fuzi, since she's staying not far from the home of the new case assigned to me. Like Lin, Sofie & Aini, Fuzi's home was also in my list of monthly visits. Today I found out that Fuzi's eldest daughter, who recently graduated with a degree in accounting, has already started work at an audit firm slightly more than a month ago. In fact, she had already earned her first ever pay last week. Her convocation will be held some time at the end of this month. I'm sure it will be a proud moment for her mother.
Later today after I got home, I got a message from Yah. She sent me a photo of herself, together with her eldest daughter during the girl's recent convocation. Yes, the girl is now a diploma holder. Yah's family may not be fully independent yet, and Buddies is still helping out with the younger children's educational needs, but they are heading in the right direction.
I'm sure the success of my clients' children had made their families, especially the mothers proud. Our Education Sponsorship Program is finally showing positive results, and while these children aren't mine, I can't help but feel like a proud mom too!
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