Merdeka Day's Visit - The Kids, The Elderly and The Repentant

31 August 2012  -  On this day, when Malaysians celebrate Independence day and rejoice in their freedom, there are others out there bound by pitiful circumstances – poverty, ailing health, drug addiction which resulted in kids ending up in Orphanages,  the elderly placed or left at Old Folks Homes and drug addicts checking into drug rehabilitation centres.  Today, we and some friends spent an eventful afternoon visiting 3 Homes/Centres in the above 3 categories; an Orphanage, a soon-to-be opened Old Folks Home and a Drug Rehabilitation Centre. 

~ ~ ~ The Orphanage ~ ~ ~

 

Our visit to the Orphanage, St Barnabas Home in Klang was a planned event by 1Month 1Charity, its mission to deliver groceries and for Chew, a chance to re-connect with the kids which he had already made acquaintance before.  On this trip, we were joined by another 1M1C member, Tony, Chew’s brother and nephew, and my sister, Winnie. 

Upon arrival, we were met by the Caretaker, Mr George and after brief introduction, led us into the ground floor of this four-storey building.  George went on to explain that this portion of the building is being used as an education centre for the Rohingya refugee kids, with monthly sponsorship of RM1000 by the Church for the food and teacher’s allowance.

We then climbed few flights of stairs in order to get to the living quarters of the kids, all 19 of them, housed in the 3rd and 4th floor of the building.  These kids, mostly orphans, with few from single-parent families are a well-behaved and charming lot.  After the kids' shy and candid self-introduction, George related some of these kids’ plight to us, which always tug at our heartstrings no matter how many Orphanages we have visited or how many similar stories we have heard.  As George briefed, our eyes wandered to the respective kids, hearts going out to them but on the other hand, thankful that they are not left out in the streets to fend for themselves but instead blessed enough to end up in a better living condition.  With the Home’s guidance and support in their education, hopefully they can carve a brighter future for themselves. 

The Building

The Delivery

The Ground Floor which is utilised as education centre

The Caretaker, Mr George

The shy and well-mannered kids

~ ~ ~ Home For The Elderly ~ ~ ~

Moving on, our next stop came about from reading the Star’s article on a  soon-to-be opened Home for the Elderly, which happened to be located nearby.  Hence, we decided to drop by to have a look and identify the needs of this Home, if there is any.  Canaan Caring Home is a nursing home for the elderly set up by Persatuan Rumah Caring Kajang, but the responsibility to run this place will be taken up by Mr Andrew Ng, a man who broke free from the bondage of drugs years ago and found his mission in life, helping others in the same situation to live a new life and now, dedicating his life to taking care of the elderly  This 4-bedroom Semi-D unit, rented at RM1000 per month is situated in a quieter part of Klang’s housing area.  It is equipped to comfortably housed 16 residents, the interior renovation and fittings all thoughtfully designed with the elderly in mind.  The back of the Semi-D has been extended to serve as an open Kitchen and dining area.  The extra land at the side are planted with vegetables, for own consumption and surplus for sale.  Andrew briefed that residents of this Home will be made up of both paying-residents and non-paying residents (for those without family members).

At the time of our visit, this place is already equipped with beds, mattresses, furnitures, most of the necessary electrical appliances and just lacking some smaller items, odds and ends before opening its doors to take in residents.

A typical bedroom

The bathroom with the handle bars and anti-slip floor tiles

The open air concept Kitchen & Dining Area

One of the Vegetable Plot

~ ~ ~ Drug Rehabilitation Centre ~ ~ ~

Our third stop was on a chance invitation by Andrew himself who also helps out at the Drug Rehabilitation Centre a stone’s throw away from Canaan Caring Home.  Cornerstone Drug Rehabilitation Centre is a Christian non-profit Drug Rehabilitation Organisation with mission to reach out to drug addicts and help them overcome their addiction with the power of religion.

Using the time-proven but seemingly harsh method of going “Cold Turkey”, a term used for total withdrawal of drugs for a period of days, before moving them on to the next rehabilitation phase. Complemented by spiritual guidance and instilling in them the Christian values, this Centre will equip them with vocational skills to help them adapt to Society.  Upon completion of the 18-month rehabilitation programme, the inmates are encouraged to look for jobs but advised to remain staying in the Centre for a period of time.  This is to avoid relapse which tend to occur for newly-released inmates who may face problem going back to society or mixing with the old crowd.  Thus, it is better for them to stay in a support group until their mind and spirit is strong enough to face the world on their own.

This Centre, situated on a 3-acre land has its own organic vegetable farm and vocational workshop.  We were given a tour of the vegetable farm, which delighted our city-bred kids cause being so close to nature.  The weather was accomodating and the peace and tranquility is a total contrast to the scenes that greet us daily. 

As it was getting late, we decided to call it a day and after bidding farewell to Andrew, we left with best wishes for Andrew on his new venture.