KUCHING: A destitute family at Kampung Semariang Batu near here can rest easy for a while after receiving much-needed aid.
The family’s plight came to light after a caring netizen tweeted on Tuesday about their dire situation, which then caught on.
Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Childhood Development Minister Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah confirmed yesterday that her ministry had reached out to the family.
“I am glad to say that we have reached out to the family and they have been given some help under the Child Help
Scheme,” she told a press conference after the Family and Women Council meeting on Wednesday.
“But of course, that is not enough. There are other types of financial aid that they can apply for. I am not sure if they know about them.
“Someone has to point them to the right direction. They probably don’t know about the aid,” she said.
The minister pointed out that schools must be proactive in aiding needy students.
“This can be through the Parent-Teacher Association or they can liaise with Yayasan Sarawak for education aid funds.
“The people in the school are the nearest. Last time when I was principal, I visited the homes of schoolchildren to find out why they were not in school,” she said.
Fatimah stressed that such an approach still worked today.
Meanwhile, one of the girls in the destitute family is reported to be keen on taking the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia examinations but is unable to go to school due to her family being financially strapped.
“If they (family) claim to not have any money for fuel, then the obvious solution is to make the child a boarder,” Fatimah had this to say.
