More Raya rounds

After visiting Sofie and Fuzi on Monday, Lin on Tuesday, clinic duty on Wednesday and visiting my new client Maya on Thursday, on Friday I decided to visit Shila and Rosnah. I don’t visit them on a regular basis, just once in a while. Shila had SMSed me earlier to say that she made a pair of glasses for her daughter Laila, and that it cost her RM280. Laila is under our sponsorship programme, and her sponsor had indicated to me earlier that if the girl needed anything extra, just inform her.

So reimbursing her for the RM280 shouldn’t be a problem, although I do feel the amount is a bit high if compared to the pair of glasses I made for Saiful, Sofie’s son, earlier. I only had to pay RM150 for Saiful’s glasses after I managed to coax the optician to give a discount as Saiful was from a poor family. The optician ended up charging just for the lenses, and giving the frame for free. And even if he had charged for the frame, he would only have charged RM230 for student rate.

But unlike Sofie who informed me before Saiful’s glasses were made (she couldn’t afford to pay first), Shila on the other hand only informed me after the glasses for Laila were done.

Ah, it was done anyway, so I just told Shila to hand me the receipt when I come over. And since Rosnah stays just nearby, I figured I might as well visit Rosnah’s family as well. Besides, I had promised Rosnah I’d give her the Family Day photos, which I had been keeping with me since last month.

After informing Shila that I’d be coming on Friday, I checked with Rosnah if anybody would be home on Friday. Rosnah would be at work, but she said her mother and daughter would be home. By Friday her daughter would have completed her UPSR and so she should be home.

Came Friday morning, first I went over to a minimarket to get hampers for the 2 families. The same hampers that I had bought for the 3 families earlier (didn’t buy hamper for Maya as I bought her groceries instead).

First up, Shila’s house. Since I needed to drop by my old office first to sign some documents, I decided to use the old road instead of the highway. Balik kampung season was over anyway, so it didn’t really matter which road I took.

Laila was at school, so it was just Shila and her 11 month old niece at home. Shila’s mother was still not back from her stall selling kuih.

Shila had given up on her ARV medication for some time now. No matter what we said to convince her that she shouldn’t stop her medication, nothing seemed to work. Shila came up with all sorts of excuses. Even SN from the HIV clinic had given up coaxing her. Now Shila doesn’t even go for her hospital appointments anymore.

At Shila’s house, I was served nasi himpit and kuah kacang. Knowing I was coming on Friday, Shila’s mother cooked them the night before.

After chatting with Shila for  a while, I headed over to Rosnah’s house. I knew Rosnah wasn’t home, but it shouldn’t be much of a problem because her mother knows me.

As I got to Rosnah’s house, the door was shut. I gave the salam, 3 times, but nobody answered, and nobody opened the door. So I just left the hamper near the door (it was quite hidden) and put the envelope of photos on top of it.

Just as I was about to reverse my car to leave, somebody opened the door. Rosnah’s mother finally opened the door when she thought she heard the sound of a car. She didn’t hear my salam earlier as she was in the kitchen and her washing machine was making even more noise.

Rosnah’s daughter was in school. Although UPSR was over, they had some programmes in school, so she still went to school.

After chatting for a while with Rosnah’s mother, I decided to make a move. Rosnah’s mother then told me to wait as she had wanted to give me something. Off she went to the kitchen and came out with a tupperware of rambutan jam she had made herself.

6 families in 5 days - I think that wrapped up my Raya rounds. I decided to just stay home over the weekend as I, and my car, needed a break. I have promised to meet up with 2 more clients this coming week, but they will be coming to Ipoh for their appointments, so I only need to go to Ipoh GH to meet them.

And since it’s almost the end of the month, by the end of the week it will be time for my grocery deliveries as well…

Clinic Duty and Raya Visit Round 2

I was on clinic duty again today, and this time I went a wee bit early with the hope of getting a proper parking space without having to go around the hospital a few rounds.

Well yes, I did get a proper parking space at a parking lot nearer to the Pusat Rawatan Harian, but much further to the specialist clinic where I was heading. But then, walking is a good form of exercise, no?

Immediately upon arrival I headed straight to the doctor’s room to check with the nurse if there were any new cases to be referred today. There were supposed to be three, but none of them were there yet. So I just waited at the usual room, took out my netbook computer and did some work. Meanwhile I also observed the PLHIVs being counseled about their ARV by the pharmacists with whom we were sharing the room.

At one time a lady came in with her 7 year old son. While the mother sat at the table where the pharmacists were, the son was more interested to sit at the chair beside mine, since I was at that time using my netbook computer.

Boy: “I want to play your computer can or not?”

Me: “Cannot, I want to do some work.”

Boy: “Got game or not? I want to play.”

Me: “No, no game. I use this computer to work, not to play.”

Boy: “I press ah?” (then put his fingers on the enter key)

Me: “Don’t. I want to work, ok?”

Boy: “If I press, then?”

Me: (make donno)

Boy: “If I press, THEN WHAAAT?” (then he started pressing a few keys on the keyboard)

I gave him my usually deadly stare, but it didn’t seem to work with him. Luckily the pharmacists were done counseling his mother, it was time for them to leave the room. But before they left, the boy pointed to my tudung and said, “Why you wear like that one? Take out la!”

Aiyo, this boy… luckily his mother is not one of our clients, otherwise whoever becomes the buddy would probably have their patience tested whenever he/she visits them at their home!

Anyway, although there were supposed to be 3 new cases, only 2 came. One, a young Malay guy, an ex-IVDU. Although it was his first appointment at Ipoh GH, his case wasn’t really a new case. He had earlier done his follow-ups in KL and only recently moved to Perak and had his appointments transferred to Ipoh. So, there was not much I needed to explain to him as he had already gone through all the explanations before.

The other case was of a single Chinese lady in her thirties. She went to do her full blood tests recently, and it was then she found out that she had been infected. She suspects she must have got infected by her previous boyfriend as she couldn’t think of any other way she could have been infected.

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Yesterday I went for round 2 of my raya visits. The 3rd family on my list… Lin’s. I had already bought 3 hampers on Monday, one delivered to Fuzi, one to Sofie, and the 3rd one was meant for Lin. This time I decided to go in the morning. As I reached her house at about 10 am, her 2nd daughter (the one studying medic overseas) was outside hanging her laundry.

“Baru mandi ke?”, I asked.

“Hehe… belum lagi pun!” she replied, and then went inside for her bath.

Only 2 of Lin’s 6 children were home. No. 1 and no.3 were back in Klang Valley where they’re currently studying. No. 5 and 6 were in school. No. 2, the daughter whom I met oustide, is due to go back overseas soon. No. 4, Lin’s 18 year old son, was all ready to go to work, but he was waiting for his boss to come fetch him. (Waaah, class gitu, nak pergi kerja boss yang datang ambik!)

While Lin’s first 3 daughters did quite well in their studies, her son didn’t seem to do well. When he was in form 5, he was more interested to lepak with his friends. Lin had quite a tough time trying to discipline this son. But I was happy to note that the boy had improved quite a lot in his attitude. Despite not doing too well in his SPM, he managed to get a job and seemed keen. Maybe he has finally found something that interests him. And unlike during my previous visits when he’d just stay away, this time he was more talkative. Hmmm… big improvement I must say. His other siblings had always welcomed me to their home, and now with the changes I see in this boy, I felt even more comfortable visiting them.

Lin had been working hard during fasting month, sewing clothes especially for neighbors. In fact, some were begging her to do some last minute alterations, or to accept last minute orders.

With her no. 1 and 3 expected to finish their studies by next year, I believe Lin’s financial worries should be over in the near future. Her first 3 daughters had always been supportive of her all along and after knowing them for more than a year, I believe they will help their mother and younger siblings financially once they can get themselves a job. I look forward to the day when Lin’s wellbeing is taken care by her children instead of her having to worry about their wellbeing.

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Tomorrow I plan to visit another family, and on Friday 2 more families…

Raya visits – Round 1

After completing an additional 6 days of fasting last week, and a trip to KL over the weekend to attend my niece’s engagement ceremony, today I finally got back into my normal voluntary work mode, although initially earlier in the morning I wasn’t really sure if I’d be starting my Raya rounds today. You see, I just came back from KL last night, and this morning it was raining, so yep, the lazy bug did try to convince me to stay home for an additional day of break.

However by 11 am the sun was out, and knowing that I’d need to start mobilizing myself before I got too lazy, I decided to visit Fuzi’s and Sofie’s family in the afternoon. Sofie’s kids had earlier on invited me to come to their house for Raya, and I promised I’d do so after I completed my puasa enam, and so today was just the right time to visit them. Fuzi’s house is just on the way, I might as well drop by her house as well.

And so after my zohor prayer today, off I went… first, to a minimarket to get some hampers. Some blog readers/facebook friends had given me some cash to be distributed to the HIV families under me – some to be given as duit raya (to the single mothers and to the children as well) and some to buy whatever suitable. As in previous years, the kids had always been excited when I brought hampers for them. It didn’t matter that I bought the inexpensive hampers.

First up, Fuzi’s house. The moment I gave the signal to turn right to her house, my first reaction was… WAAA… RUMAH RAYA!! New paint!

Fuzi had been saving some money from her monthly aid to buy baju raya for her kids, but during Ramadhan, her kids, being orphans, were chosen by a political organisation to be brought to a supermarket together with some other kids to shop for their baju raya. So, the money that Fuzi had been saving to buy baju raya, she used to buy some paint instead, and they ended up painting the house themselves.

Anyway, it was good to note that Hafiz, Fuzi’s 12 year old son, who used to be very naughty and was always out with friends, prefers to stay home a lot more now. He will be sitting for his UPSR beginning tomorrow. Hopefully he will be able to do well.

After munching some raya cookies and finishing the glass of drink prepared by Wina, Fuzi’s eldest daughter, I headed off to my next destination… Sofie’s house. Sofie’s son, Saiful, too will sit for his UPSR tomorrow.

Ahh, the right time to visit the 2 families, to at least give some words of encouragement to both Hafiz and Saiful; although when I planned to visit them, it didn’t really come to my mind that both families had children sitting for UPSR.

My visit to Sofie’s was also just in time before she moves to another house tomorrow. She was just about to tell her sister to inform me about it when she received my text message this morning saying I’d be coming.

Yes, Sofie had been wanting to move to another house earlier on because the whole neighborhood knows about her HIV (courtesy of her mulut becok sister who had been spreading the news around the kampong) but decided to postpone it until Saiful completes his UPSR. She figured she might as well wait until the end of the year so she can arrange to change their schools as well. Besides, she felt financially she wasn’t ready. The present house is rented at RM150 per month while the rental rate of all other houses she had been enquiring were at least RM250 per month.

However, beginning the end of Ramadhan, Sofie’s other sister, Norma, had come to stay with her. Norma, who used to stay up north, had been the one most supportive of Sofie. Whenever she heard that Sofie was unwell, she’d ride her motorbike from all the way up north just to check on her sister. A vast difference from the mulut becok sister who stays in the same neighborhood.

Well, Norma now is separated from her husband, and she has decided to come and stay with Sofie. She had been staying with Sofie since a few days before Raya.

So, what made Sofie change her mind about moving house? And more so, why is she moving tomorrow when UPSR is to start?

You see, in addition to having the whole neighborhood know about her HIV, the house she’s staying in tend to get flooded whenever there’s heavy rain. No, not the whole neighborhood, just her house. Worse, the septic tank outside her house had been full for some time and Sofie had informed her landlord a few times. But the landlord refused to do anything. On the first day of Raya this year, the same thing happened. Imagine having dirty water (including those overflowing from her septic tank) in the kitchen. Yucks!

Again Sofie informed the landlord. And all the landlord could say was to tell her to just use buckets or pails to clear the water out of the kitchen! Sheeesh!

Sofie got fed-up, so did Norma. They both decided to look for another house, with Norma agreeing to share the rental and deposit. Off they went searching, and over the weekend, they managed to find a house in a nearby town at a rate of RM250 per month. Although the place is a bit further for the children to go to school, it was still accessible within 30 minutes by car/motorbike/bus. Sofie or Norma would be sending/fetching the children to/from school with their motorbikes until school session for the year ends. After that, she’ll arrange for the children to be transferred to schools nearer to their new house.

Once they settle down, Sofie intends to set up a small stall selling kuih or burger near her place, beside the main road.

That’s one thing I like about Sofie, no matter what kind of hardship she has to go through, she’s always thinking of something to earn her own income instead of depending on financial aid all the time.

Well, looks like my next visit at the end of the month to deliver groceries will be to her new home…

Raya sakan!

I was in my office on Friday morning when Jah called me up. She was at the General Hospital to get her supply of medication for the month and she was hoping we could meet up for lunch. Hmmm… let me rephrase that… she was hoping I could buy her lunch! Too bad I was fasting… the last day of my puasa enam… so I had to turn her down.

However, since I had planned to go for my Raya rounds on Sunday, I told her I’d be visiting her at home on Sunday and asked her if she’d like to join me for my visits to a few other houses. As expected, she was excited about the idea.

Came Sunday morning, just as I was about to leave my house at 9.30am, Jah called. She said her mother had already cooked something for me and she wanted to make sure I was indeed coming. So off I went, and since Shila stays in a small town just along the way, I picked her up first at the town’s bus station which is just along the main road. Her daughter Laila tagged along. It was nice seeing them in a ‘boria’ blue baju kurung outfit. Laila woke up early on that day as she was excited about going jalan-jalan somewhere.

As we chatted on the way to Jah’s house, Shila told me how on the 6th day of Raya, she woke up to find Laila standing beside her, crying. The little girl suddenly missed her father who died 5 years ago and was asking her mother if they could go visit her late father’s grave. Shila did not promise anything as her late husband’s grave is in another state and traveling would need money…

When we reached Jah’s house, she was already waiting at the door. She was oh so excited when I brought down from my car a raya hamper for her. (But then again, Jah has always been easily excited!)

For the first time that day, I had the opportunity to meet Jah’s mother, who’s in her mid 50’s and works as a kindergarten teacher. Apparently when Jah came back from the hospital on Friday, before even getting into the house she was already excitedly telling her mother that I’d be coming on Sunday. So, in addition to the kuih raya they had, Jah’s mother took the trouble to cook some meehoon goreng for us. That was my second round of meehoon goreng for the day as I just had meehoon goreng for breakfast at home earlier.

Jah stays in the same town as Hana and I was thinking of bringing Jah, Shila and Laila along when I visit Hana. However when I called earlier, Hana said she’d be working morning shift on Sunday so she wouldn’t be at home. Nevertheless, since I was not familiar with Hana’s kampong, I asked Jah to show me the way to the kampong so that the next time I intend to go, I’d know how to get to the kampong.

A colleague of mine (who was assigned as Hana’s main buddy as she stays in the same town) had earlier told me that Hana was still in denial (about her husband’s death and about her HIV infection). The same colleague also expressed her concern that Hana’s daughters walk to school. Since I had not been to the place earlier, I couldn’t imagine how far it would be. So when I got to Hana’s kampong on Sunday, I was shocked. The kampong, which is also an orang asli settlement, is located at a hilly area (there’s even a waterfall nearby) and is quite far from town where the school is located. Even by bicycle it can be considered far, imagine the 13 & 8 year old girls WALKING to school every day! Oh dear, I must make the effort to get the necessary schooling assistance for the girls. Now that I know where the kampong is, I will definitely visit again when Hana is at home during the day.

We then headed back to Shila’s place. Shila is actually under the care of another Buddy, but whenever I get the opportunity, I’d still get them to meet the PLWHAs under my care. I had never been to Shila’s house either, but Shila was in the car to show the way so no problem getting to her house. Again, this was another kampong quite far from town and those without own transportation would find it a problem getting to town. Earlier in the morning Shila had sought her sister’s help to send her and Laila to the bus-station by motorbike.

This time little Laila was the one who got excited when I brought down the hamper for them. I got to meet Shila’s mom and sister. Like Jah, Shila’s family is also very supportive. The whole family is already familiar with quite a few of us buddies, and we are always welcomed at their home. That Sunday, upon knowing that I was coming, although they never met me (but have heard about me), Shila’s mom prepared laksa, nasi himpit and kelamai for me - all home cooked. Funny thing was, on the way to Shila’s house, there were people selling kelamai along the road and Jah was saying, “Kak, tengok dia orang jual lemang gantung kak!!” Actually, it was the kelamai, which is also cooked inside a bamboo like lemang, but the ingredients are different.

The next destination was Sha’s house. Jah, Shila and Laila tagged along. Sha had just moved to a new house during Ramadhan and so I had never been to her new place. I called her first to get directions. Her new home is not in a kampong and it shouldn’t be too hard to find. Or so I thought…

I never heard of her taman before and since I needed to get into a particular junction from the main road to get to her taman, it turned out to be quite a task. I tell you I wouldn’t want to have Sha as my co-pilot should I need to fly anywhere (not that I know how to fly anyway!). With the police station on my right, she said it was on my left… and when I was supposed to go right at the 4th traffic light she said it was the 2nd traffic light. Aduuuh…

She finally sent her younger sister to wait for me at the junction, telling me to look for a girl in a pink tudung on a motorbike. Thank God there was only one girl in a pink tudung there, and yes, she was on a motorbike. If there was a Puteri Umno meeting nearby, I would have trouble identifying Sha’s sister!!

So yes, we finally made it to Sha’s house. By then I really needed to pee I forgot to bring down the hamper from my car! :) I only remembered about it later while chatting with the ladies.

Sha had just finished cooking when we got to her house. Guess what she cooked for us? Hehehe… yep, meehoon goreng! My 3rd round of meehoon goreng for the day! I got to meet Sha’s baby boy only for the second time and held him in my arms for the first time. The last time I met him was when he was just a newly born. Now he’s already a chubby 10 month old boy! Well, Sha is one of the less problematic ones because she has a supporting husband who doesn’t have financial problems, so my contacts with Sha are mostly by telephone.

Anyway, Sha said she will invite me again to her house soon as she intends to hold a doa selamat at her new home.

By the time we left Sha’s house, it was almost 2 pm. I immediately sent Shila and Laila back, followed by Jah, and then headed straight home. I only reached home at 3 pm, with an overdose of meehoon goreng in my tummy… :)

Raya visit to Fuzi's house

After fulfilling Mrs. K’s raya invitation on Thursday last week, the next day I decided to pay Fuzi a visit for raya. Besides it was already time to deliver milk powder and diapers to her little Iwan.

First I went to shop for the things, then I called Fuzi just to be sure she was home. It was after all raya season and she may be off with her children to beraya elsewhere. When I called and asked Fuzi if she was home, her immediate answer was, “Ada kak, orang macam saya ni nak beraya ke mana?”

So off I went on the 7th day of raya. The main door was already open when I got there as she already knew I was on the way. Otherwise, the door is most of the time closed since it is just a makeshift door. I need to start asking around for a discounted rate for a proper door as the present door sometimes opens by itself whenever it is very windy. It seems very unsafe.

When I got inside I saw the children playing some board games. Fuzi’s baby, Iwan, who’s now about 16 months old, and can already walk, was rather cautious seeing me. He’s always afraid of strangers and although he does see me every month, it takes a few minutes for him to warm up to me – unlike Mrs. K’s 9 month baby who’d recognize me immediately whenever I went to visit them.

Fuzi said the children did get some duit raya from some neighbours and while her girls were the saving type, and the 2 younger boys’ duit raya was given to Fuzi, her 9 year old son finished all his duit raya buying firecrackers from a nearby shop. The shop owner even called Fuzi every time the boy went to buy firecrackers from him, telling Fuzi that her son was wasting his money buying firecrackers. (Dah tau budak tu wasting money, pergi jual kat dia buat apa?!)

When scolded by his mother, he answers back. Poor Fuzi has been having a tough time dealing with this boy. Tell him nicely, he doesn’t listen. Scold him, he answers back. Yeah, I’ve heard about how tough it is bringing up orphans, but in Fuzi’s case, the other kids do listen to her. As a matter of fact, the 2 older sisters are very responsible girls who help out their mother to look after the family. It’s just this boy giving her the headaches. I don’t know, maybe he needs a fatherly figure to talk to him for him to listen. I’ve tried talking to him… went in one ear and immediately out the other…

I asked Fuzi about the status of her marriage cert – whether it has been legalized. She said she had gone to the Pejabat Agama to be interviewed by an officer there and was asked to supply a few sets of supporting documents for them to submit to the relevant authorities. At least it shows progress. Hopefully things will be finalized soon although I am still not satisfied with the fact that she had to pay some suspiciously large amount of money to get things going.

* A fellow volunteer who had been helping Fuzi to get Bantuan Kanak-kanak had been relating this problem to a few officers at the Welfare Department. All they could tell my colleague was “Alaaah… biasalah tu, yang sanggup bayar lebih lagi pun ada.” 'Biasalah tu' was all they could come up with. I wonder if it is also a “biasa” practice amongst them too.*

Anyway, Fuzi’s children kept asking when the raya gathering will be (like the one I organized last year). I haven’t planned anything yet for this year so I couldn’t answer their question. Obviously they’re eager to attend the gathering so I’d better start thinking of organizing one.

I’d better bring this up in my NGO’s board meeting next week.

Raya visit to Mr. K's house

A few days before raya, Mr. K’s daughter had already sent me a text message on behalf of her parents inviting me to come to their house for raya. Yeah, this is our temporary “Orang Kaya Baru” family who got Mr. K’s EPF withdrawal about 2 weeks before raya. Those of you who had been following the stories in my blog may remember my posting about Mrs. K installing Astro at home using the EPF withdrawal after being pressured by her children.

Well, the children are always excited about having visitors to their home, so yeah, I obliged their invitation. Besides, it was my chance to see if they had bought anything else unnecessary at their home… like a new sofa set maybe… ;)

So off I went to their house last Thursday. I was supposed to pick another volunteer at 10.30 am to go along with me but the volunteer called me up at 10 am saying he had to pull out as he had some things to do at the hospital.

I went a bit late myself as Rina passed away on that day and I went to visit Rina’s family first. My earlier plan to visit Hana first has also been postponed as another volunteer who stays in the same town as Hana, had promised to check on Hana. I may visit Hana later - I have 2 other PLWHA clients staying within the same district so I may just visit them all together once I finish my puasa enam.

When I reached Mr. K’s house, their 5 year old daughter happily greeted me by blowing soap bubbles… :)

In I went, and yes, they were watching Astro. There was a new motorbike outside. OK, the motorbike was necessary as the old motorbike which they used earlier to bring Mr. K to the hospital actually belonged to Mrs. K’s brother. After Mrs. K got the motorbike repaired recently her brother asked for his bike back. Oh well...

Other than that, nothing fancy. No new sofa set, no new curtains etc. Thank goodness. But I forgot to ask if they opened up SSPN accounts for the children as they had promised. I must remember to ask them the next time I see them.

Anyway, Mrs. K cooked some laksa especially for me. The gravy was so hot my lips felt so thick! And oh, I had a chat with their 9 month old baby. No, nothing political… just some goo goo ga ga stuff. Hey, the little girl was talking baby language okay? I just played along…

I brought along the form for them to apply to rent a flat in Ipoh. They agreed they should move to Ipoh during the school holidays so that the children can start schooling in their new schools at the beginning of next year. My colleague has also got a job for Mrs. K with a higher pay than her present pay; and since the flats are near the hospital, it will also be easier for Mr. K to go for his appointments. And the flats are also quite near the Sekolah Teknik where we hope to enroll Shah (their eldest son) for Aliran Kemahiran which he failed to get into this year as the school nearer to their present house did not have enough applicants to start a class.

Hopefully things will go through as planned. I don’t intend to keep bringing groceries and other stuff to them every month. Not that I mind but my main intention is to help them become independent. Once this family becomes independent, I can concentrate on other families needing help.

As I was about to leave, Shah asked if he could tumpang me to Ipoh. He promised to join some friends to go to another friend’s open house in Ipoh. Not a problem for me. At least it showed that he felt comfortable enough with me.

So far things are beginning to look quite positive for this family at last. I sure hope it will continue to be positive.

The only negative thing I’m hoping for them is that other than Mr. K who is HIV positive, the rest will remain negative…