KUCHING: Hope Place has recently come to the aid of a single father of two struggling to take care of his family, including his elder child who was born with cerebral palsy.
Joseph Linden, who resides in Kampung Sagah, has been a stay-at-home father for three years in order to take care of his 11-year-old son Ireneus Neumann, who requires more care due to his disorder.
Ireneus is bedridden and has to take special milk formula every three hours through tube feeding. He also uses adult diapers. He has a younger sister, aged seven.
Hope Place founder Kelvin Wan said it was heart-breaking for the Hope Place team to see the father single-handedly taking care of his loved ones, including his elderly parents.
Joseph’s wife passed away three years ago due to liver problems. After that, he abandoned his piping business.
Now, the family’s only regular source of income is the Social Welfare Department’s financial aid of RM350 and his late wife’s Social Security Organisation funds.
According to Joseph, they used to be an ordinary happy family, even though their son was disabled. He said after his wife died, everything went downhill.
Nevertheless, the family is grateful for the help they have received from their relatives.
Hope Place is assisting Joseph with supplies of adult diapers and special milk formula for Ireneus. The non-governmental organisation (NGO) would also like to sincerely thank donors who have consistently donated adult diapers and special milk powder for those in need.
For more information, Hope Place or Persatuan Kebajikan Harapan Kuching can be reached at 082-505987. Opening hours are from 8am to 5pm from Monday to Friday and 8am to 12pm on Saturdays.
All donations are welcome and receipts will be given upon request.
Donations can be made directly to the NGO’s Maybank account — 511289001160 — or by visiting their Facebook page to access their S Pay Global QR code.
