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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Monday 20 October 2008

Various updates

I was in my office last week when a call came from an unfamiliar number. I thought it was another one of those unwanted calls from unwelcome marketers but most of the time those unwanted calls are from KL/Selangor mobile numbers. This one came from a northern mobile number so I just answered the call and heard a familiar voice saying, “Kak, saya ni.”

Even if I could not recognize the voice, there was only one person I knew who would take for granted I’d know who “saya” was. It was none other than Yah, who has changed her number for the umpteenth time. No wonder she didn’t reply my Raya message. I bet she will change her number again in no time so I guess I will have to wait for her to call me each time instead of me calling her.

Yah: “Kak dah tak masuk dah ke duit yang Kak selalu masukkan tiap-tiap bulan tu?”
Me: “Duit apa? Mana ada saya masukkan duit tiap-tiap bulan?”
Yah: “Alaa… duit yang Kak masukkan dalam Giro saya tu…”

Haiya… ini orang… I told her many times before that the contribution was from an anonymous donor who’d bank in direct into her account – I don’t even know how much is banked in every month, and she’s asking ME if I had stopped banking in the money?

I guess since Yah had lost her job again (remember my earlier posting about her outlaw in-laws telling her employer about her HIV – causing her to lose her last job?) she’s depending on the monthly welfare aid and the contribution from the anonymous donor. I asked her when the last amount was banked in – thinking it must have been quite some time since the last one. She said the last one was in September. September?! October is not over yet and she’s asking if the contribution has stopped? Adoii… I told her that maybe it’s just a bit later than usual and told her to be a bit more patient.

Hmmm… or did she overspend for Raya?

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Last night I received a call from Pat, a fellow volunteer who stays in the same town as Hana. She was at the hospital with Hana at that time. Hana had actually called Pat earlier on Saturday when Pat was on her way to KL; telling Pat that her 8 year old daughter was ill. Pat promised to visit her once she came back from KL – and so yesterday right after she came back she immediately went to visit. Hana’s daughter was actually down with tonsillitis. Pat brought them to the district hospital where the daughter was eventually warded.

Remember in my earlier posting I mentioned about Hana asking me if she could claim from Socso for the accident that happened right before Raya causing her to break her arm? When I asked her earlier, she said the accident occurred on her way back from work. Well, last night when I asked her (Pat passed the phone to her so I could ask Hana direct) she said the accident occurred at home – AFTER she got back from work.

What actually happened was she fell at home due to the poor condition of her house. Whenever I visited her at home, she’d always let me in through the kitchen door which is downstairs. She wouldn’t dare let visitors go upstairs due to the poor condition – but she and her children would still sleep upstairs. The penghulu and some other jawatankuasa kampong promised they’d help to fix her house before Raya but to date nothing has been done. Right before Raya, one of the wooden planks gave in and Hana fell. Hana told me she “patah tangan” but last night when I spoke to Pat, it’s her shoulders that was injured.

The accident occurred about 3 weeks ago and Hana has not been going to work since then. And so she has not been earning anything this month. In other words, this month she’s broke and needs help. That was why Pat called me – so I could find possible ways of getting help for her.

Well, her children are under sponsorship, so schooling needs are already covered. I guess I’d better make a plan to visit her soon and bring along some groceries and whatever other household necessities to lessen her burden.

I will be attending a function in KL this Saturday, so I can’t possibly visit her then. Hmmm… maybe during Deepavali then? Maybe, I can’t confirm just yet…

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Komen Pak Malim, kucing ray yang alim.

Kalau Puan ke Kuala Lumpur, kata Pak Malim sambil bermain lumpur, boleh tak bawa beberapa TIN BESAR sadin utk saya, kata Pak Malim sambil memakai baju kebaya. Kat sini, sadin mahal, kata Pak Malim sambil menuju ke Taj Mahal.

Pi Bani said...

Eh eh, Pak Malim datang lagi, kata Pi Bani sambil mencungkil gigi.

Kalau nak suruh bawa tin besar sadin boleh, kata Pi Bani sambil air liur meleleh; tapi sampai sana nanti tinggal tinnya saja, kata Pi Bani sambil mengelap meja.

Kak Teh said...

hahahaha , gelak kak teh sambil sendawa,
pak malim menjenguk pi bani,kak teh lari ke pasar tani,
nak cari tin sardin besar,
untuk kucing pak malim yang bertambar gusar.

adoi penat mengejar pak malim.

Pi Bani said...

Kak Teh:
Ikan sardin punya hal, sanggup Pak Malim ke Taj Mahal.

Yang Kak Teh ni dok mengejar Pak Malim, ada chan tak badan jadi slim? :)

Kak Teh said...

hai pi bani memang nak kena,
kata kak teh sebelum nak lena,
Kak teh memang dah slim,
kalau tak percaya tanya pak malim.

Kerp (Ph.D) said...

i believe you received an sms from an unknown kl number, whom you may have figured by now belongs to a certain needy group. all he needs is a lunch-do at a certain hotel situated next to a certain shopping mall...muahahhaha

Pi Bani said...

Heh heh heh,
Pi Bani tersengeh-sengeh
Kak Teh jangan marah,
kata Pi Bani sambil pakai baju merah
Sebenarnya Pak Malim yang tembam
Kata Pi Bani dah nak tersembam.

Pi Bani said...

Kerp:
The SMS from the KL number tu ada nama pengirimnya at the end of the message. So no problem there. Tapi if it was a call from an unknown number in KL, mungkin juga I teragak-agak nak jawab...

Errr... ada warung tak outside that certain hotel tu? :)

Anonymous said...

Komen Pak Malim, kucing ray yg alim.

Eh, eh, saya baru balik dari Taj Mahal, kata Pak Malim sambil memegang rehal, tengok-tengok Pi Bani dan Kak Teh sedang berpantun, kata kucing ray yg penyantun. I am so impress, kata Pak Malim sambil naik bas express.

p.s : Pi Bani, saya sebenarnya kurus, kata Pak Malim sambil memegang berus. Maklumlah, tak selalu dpt makan, sadin dah mahal (kata Pak Malim yg masih memegang rehal). Alim kucing, katanya sambil memakai kancing.

Pi Bani said...

Alahai kesiannya Pak Malim kurus tak cukup makan, kata Pi Bani sambil menggoreng ikan. Agaknya Pak Malim makan banyak sangat pantang, kata Pi Bani sambil minum petang. Apa yang terhidang bedal sajalah, tambah Pi Bani sambil belek majalah.

Kak Teh said...

ish ish ish, kak teh tak mau kata apa, pikir kak teh sambil bertapa.

Pi Bani said...

Alamak! kata Pi Bani sambil makan nasi lemak.
Kak Teh sampai pergi bertapa? Tambahnya lagi sambil baca newspaper.
Macam ni kena lekas buat posting baru, sebelum keadaan jadi haru-biru!

Salt N Turmeric said...

aduh, letih ketawa baca comments u, pak malim and kak teh. semua main layan pulak tu. hahahhaha.