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.

Help find Nurin Jazlin! (Updated)

UPDATE: DNA tests confirmed that the body of a girl stuffed in a gym bag was indeed Nurin's. For more details read here and here. Utusan's report in Bahasa Malaysia here.

Father claims Nurin's body for funeral. The story here.

Nurin laid to rest: See photos here.

For the family's version of the whole story, please go to the blog set up by Nurin's uncle which has been renamed to In Memory of Nurin Jazlin (fka In Search of Nurin Jazlin) .


Original posting:

8 year old Nurin Jazlin Jazimin has been missing since August 20th, 2007. Her uncle has set up a blog in an effort to reach a wider audience to help find Nurin Jazlin.

Here's the link to the blog: In Search Of Nurin Jazlin

Please, let's all help find Nurin Jazlin!

I'd better get started...

It’s the 5th day of Ramadhan. I haven’t started my house visits yet. Contributions are already coming in. In fact a blog reader has sent some stuff in boxes ready to be sent to 3 families – Fuzi’s, Yah’s and Mrs. K’s. Their blog names were already written on the boxes. I had to cancel all the names and put down their real names. I don’t want them to get curious as to whose names were written on the boxes…

I have also received some cash to buy goodies for these families including other families not mentioned above. I haven’t bought the goodies yet… still trying to come up with a proper list of things to buy.

I don’t want to send the stuff too early. I want the children to feel the raya atmosphere. But if I wait till later I may not have enough time to visit all the families that need help. So, I’ve made up my mind… by this weekend I’ve got to start visiting and send the Raya goodies to the families.

Supply of milk powder for Fuzi’s baby I think is probably running low now. So I’d better visit them first. I’m sure her other kids are already expecting me to come anytime soon.

Mr. K is still in the hospital. Last week Mrs. K called me. “Kak, tadi doktor datang… dia kata nak ambik abang punya air tulang belakang. Tak apa ke kak? Saya serba salah laa… ada makcik sebelah ni kata kalau boleh, jangan, takut lumpuh. Macam mana ni kak?” Hmmm… she’s asking ME to advise her? I told her the doctor should know better than I do…

Anyway, this only means the children are still by themselves at home - which makes me wonder what they eat for sahur and buka puasa. When I visit them I’d better make sure I buy something for their buka puasa as well.

My main problem is to send stuff to Yah’s house. That will definitely need to be done on a weekend or a public holiday as her place is quite far. I need to go in the morning so that I won’t come home too late. I don’t like the idea of rushing home for buka puasa and I’m not the type to buka puasa outside. So yep, definitely need to put aside a Saturday or Sunday for that purpose!

There shouldn’t be any problem sending stuff to Zainab’s house. Her house is nearby my office so I can go during any of the weekdays. Will also need to send stuff to Shida and Rashid’s wife… and Nuri and Ani… and Aini, and oh, not forgetting, Lily’s children.

WHOA! I can’t postpone this any longer. I have to start soon!

You know what this means?

It means tomorrow I’d better start SHOPPING!!

Tag, tag, tag...

Hmmm… some people seem to get keTAGeh to this tagging/meme thing… sigh… well, I just so happen to be one of those who don’t really fancy them, but I’ll just try to be a sport this time, ok? Talk about being grateful in my previous post, I have to be grateful I got tagged. It shows I have blogger friends who think of me. Of course, I don't have to LIKE being tagged and I can’t promise to be a sport every time though…

Nightwing tagged me for the 10 questions tag. Earlier on Pearly tagged me with the millionaire tag, but since there is a millionaire question under the 10 questions tag, consider both tags done here... sorry folks, but...

"I'm just a LAZY BUM! LAZY BUM!" (to be sung to the tune of LADY BUMP)

Although I am a law abiding citizen, I don’t usually bother to follow any of these tagging rules (actually too lazy to go through them…). So I shall just answer the questions okay?

Q1. What were you doing 10 years ago.
1. Performed Umrah with 9 other family members after having performed the Haj with my mom the year before.
2. Did freelance accounting – working from home.
3. Installed internet at home.
4. Sold my old red recond Ford Laser (that was my first car!)
5. Grew older…

Q2. What were you doing 1 year ago.
1. Went to AIDS Village in Hatyai, Thailand together with my NGO members.
2. Visiting homes of poor PLWHA families around Perak.
3. Sent a pregnant girl to a shelter home in KL.
4. Attended a workshop organized by MAC.
5. Grew even older…

Q3. What are 5 snacks you enjoy. (not in any specific order)
1. Chocolates
2. Keropok
3. Kerepek
4. Kerapak… oops, no such thing… ok lah, kuih-muih
5. Anything edible lah

Q4. What are 5 songs you know the lyrics to.
1. Negaraku
2. TKC song (my school song)
3. Doe, a deer a female deer… :)
4. Chorus of Rasa Sayang Eh
5. Chorus of Chan Mali Chan
(Oh wow! I know the lyrics to so many songs!! Fuuuyyooohh!!)

Q5. 5 things you would do if you are a millionaire.
That depends…if I’m a millionaire of Rupiahs, I shall remain as I am. If in currencies such as Ringgit, or better still Dollars, Pounds, or Euros…
1. Figure a way to reduce my income tax.
2. Pay off all my debts.
3. Contribute to the poor especially in respect of their children’s education.
4. Invest in such a way that I will be able to quit my office work and do full time voluntary work.
5. Travel to interesting places around the world.

Q6. 5 bad habits. (Where got?! Me very sopan one…)
1. Sometimes tend to spontaneously say things without thinking of the outcome. (that’s why I prefer writing, I can re-read and edit)
2. Lie down on the settee after dinner. (and I’m complaining perut buncit!)
3. Simply dump things on my table at home… it is such a mess! If I tidy them up, later on I wouldn’t know where to find this and that. So I have to leave them messy… (yeah, excuses!)
4. Simply chuck whatever receipts (whether still useful or not) into my handbag.
5. I tend to postpone doing things which I have to do but don’t enjoy doing.

Q7. 5 things you like to do.
1. Set up a home in Perak for HIV women and children.
2. Do full time voluntary work.
3. Perform the Haj again.
4. Learn Arabic.
5. Stop people from tagging me… (wishful thinking?)

Q8. 5 favorite toys.
1. My laptop
2. My hand phone
3. My digital camera
4. My USB recorder/player
5. My electric bike at home

Q9. 5 things you’d never wear.
1. Stilettos (I won’t be able to walk in them!)
2. Too much jewellery (I don’t feel comfortable wearing too many of them…)
3. Anything too fitting.
4. Anything too revealing.
5. My underwear on the outside (like Superman, Wonder Woman etc.) - ni dah tak tau apa nak jawab la ni...

Q10. 5 things you hate to do.
1. Tags
2. More tags
3. Even more tags
4. And again, more tags.
5. Oh no, there’s another tag to be done!!

You get the drift?!

Phew… that was a tough one! And since I’d like to get this over and done with, here comes my respond to the other tag by Daphne Ling… the Fives! (no, not Jackson 5 lah...)

5 things in my handbag/bag
1. My purse
2. My blood donor book
3. A multipurpose penknife
4. A pepper spray key-chain
5. Lots of unwanted receipts

5 things in my purse
1. Cash (sometimes more, sometimes less...)
2. MyKad
3. Driving license
4. Credit cards/ATM cards
5. My blood group card

5 favorite things in my favorite room (the living room)
1. The TV
2. The settee (where I lie down while watching item 1)
3. A family photo taken during Hari Raya a few years back
4. A copper tooling “Ayat Haikal” (Quranic verses) on the wall.
5. A masjid-shaped clock bought in Mekkah.

5 things I would love/like to do
*Please refer Q7 of the 10 Questions Tag above.

5 things I am currently doing
1. Planning for my Ramadhan house visits to send goodies to poor families.
2. Blogging
3. Responding to these tags.
4. Wishing that nobody else will tag me.
5. Thinking of my next posting (after I clear these tags)

Okay, so now I have to tag 5 people. I hereby tag:

1. Superman (or anyone by the name of Suparman)
2. Batman (or anyone who loves bats)
3. Spiderman (or anyone who loves spiders)
4. Ultraman (or Auta man, if Ultraman can't be found)
5. Wonder Woman (or any WOMAN who's always WONDERing what to do...)

There you go... TAG DONE! Legaaaa....

A time to reflect...

Ramadhan is here again...

Even before Ramadhan there are already cooking programmes on TV specifically for Hari Raya. There are also lots of promos from hotels and restaurants for special Berbuka Puasa deals. Not forgetting the Bazaar Ramadhan everywhere. I thought we are supposed to eat less in Ramadhan… but somehow it appears as though every year, Ramadhan is the “food fest” month. Funny isn’t it?

And soon, trust me, we’ll be seeing the various promos for Raya entertainment programmes. Amongst them would include promos of movies and more movies which have no significance whatsoever to the month of Syawal – Malay movies, English movies, Hindustan movies… just name them…

For those who intend to balik kampong for the coming Raya using public transportation, I bet the rush to book tickets is already on (and with problems involving bus drivers and all, it will be crazy). Ah, and not forgetting, there’d be some people who are now desperately looking for tailors who are still willing to take their orders for baju raya.

Anyway, no matter what you intend to eat for sahur or berbuka puasa, no matter what your plans are for this year’s Raya, let’s spare some thought for the unfortunate ones.

Spare a thought for... the orphans. No parents to spend their Ramadhan or Syawal with. No kampong to go back to.

Spare a thought for... the poor. They hardly earn enough to get one decent meal daily. Unlike us, even though we can't eat during the daytime in Ramadhan, we still get to eat what we want at night.

Spare a thought for... the homeless people. While we sleep in the comfort of our own beds and mattresses, there are people out there who sleep on the pavements... no mattresses, just old newspapers.

Spare a thought for... those in war torn countries. While we here are taking life for granted, the people in the war torn countries are lucky if they have a safe shelter to stay under. We only have to bear with the sounds of firecrackers and home-made meriam buluh (ban or no ban, we’d still hear lots of those putus jari stories!), there are people out there who live in fear of deadly gunshots and bombings.

Spare a thought for... the Palestine refugees. Some of them may be staying in safe refugee camps in neighbouring countries, but how nice can their Eid be when they are uncertain of when they'll be able to return to a land they can call home.

Spare a thought for... the elderly people staying in old folks homes. When other old folks wait in excitement for their children to come home, imagine the loneliness of the old folks who have to spend their Hari Raya without the presence of children and grandchildren.

Spare a thought for… the HIV infected or affected families who are being marginalized… they need love and compassion, yet they get stigma and discrimination…

Yes, spare some thoughts for them and reflect on ourselves...

Are we grateful for the family and friends that we have? Or are we bitter over certain things that certain people have done?

Are we grateful for all that we have achieved? Or are we unhappy over the things that we failed to achieve?

Are we grateful for the chance to try and try again if we fail? Or do we feel hopeless every time we fail?

Are we grateful for all the love that we can share? Or are we the unloving kind of people who couldn't care less what happens to others?

You cannot be grateful and bitter.

You cannot be grateful and unhappy.

You cannot be grateful and without hope.

You cannot be grateful and unloving.

SO JUST BE GRATEFUL.

Yes, let’s just be grateful. Let’s be grateful by using this blessed month to spread love and good deeds to fellow beings. And let’s continue the love and good deeds even after Ramadhan is over.

To all Muslim readers of this blog, may you have a meaningful Ramadhan. To all the rest, we can all spread love and good deeds, can’t we? Every day, every month, throughout the year, throughout our lives…