KUCHING: A 30-year-old widow is crying for help to make ends meet for herself and her four children; the youngest of whom is only three years old.
Siti Ramlah Mon’s husband died of colon cancer sometime last January.
The family lives in a partially completed house at Kampung Sindang in Samarahan.
Siti said her husband did not manage to complete it because he fell ill and later succumbed to his sickness.
As it is, the kitchen and outside walls have no plastering while some parts of the ceiling are still bare.
Ever since her husband died, Siti, who is a housewife, has been struggling to support her family.
To make ends meet, she operates a roadside stall near her home selling fried food.
She grosses between RM50 and RM60 a day, which is insufficient to support her family.
Recently, a welfare-oriented non-governmental organisation (NGO), Hope Place Kuching (HPK), was asked if they could provide assistance to her.
In response, the founder Kelvin Wan went to get a first-hand look at Siti’s situation while bringing along some food rations as immediate assistance for the family.
According to Wan, Siti had received a one-off financial assistance of RM1,200 from Tabung Baitumal Sarawak and is in the process of applying for aid from the Social Welfare Department.
HPK has been active in giving help including providing food rations to local hardcore poor families.
Their place is open from 8.30am to 5.30pm from Mondays to Fridays and 8.30am to 12.30pm on Saturdays.
HPK welcomes donations from well-wishers and other do-gooders to support its welfare programme.
HPK’s telephone number is 085-505987.
