Rumah Caring Kajang - What Will Be Its Fate?

19 May 2013  -  A visit organised by 1Month 1Charity brought us to an Old Folks Home located in Kajang, a Home which has been in existence since 2004 but is now facing an uncertain future as complaints from its neighbours may lead to its closure.  The Owner of Rumah Caring Kajang has been served an eviction notice by the Local Town Council due to complaints from its neighbours and despite numerous appeals and support letters from various parties, the Local Town Council holds firm to its Notice, a decision which is forcing Rumah Caring Kajang to cease operation and move out of the current premises by 31 May 2013.

This is a battle to be fought by its Founder and Caretaker, Ms Wendy Yap and while this is ongoing, the daily operation of the Home remains unchanged.  There are food to be put on the tables for its residents, utility bills to be paid and overall, the residents' welfare to be looked after.  Addressing the needs of this Home, 1Month 1Charity, together with friends and volunteers, paid this Home a visit and brought along groceries and other necessities, hoping to lighten this Home's burden in a small way.

Groceries contributed by 1M1C, its volunteers and
friends of the Group

As the visit was scheduled in the afternoon, we thought it would be nice to bring along some paus and chinese dumplings for their tea-time.

Steamed Pau and chinese dumpling from us

Some of the residents enjoying their pau

The ladies enjoying their Chinese Dumpling

Ong assisting this old lady with her food

Located in the quiet neighbourhood of Taman Muhibbah, this Home, occupying two-double storey houses operates primarily as an Old Folks Home with about 30 residents, but has also taken in single mothers with kids.  The senior citizens are housed in the ground floor, men and women separated, while the first floor caters to the single mother and kids.  Generous donors' kind contribution and support made the living condition in this Home one of the better ones which we have visited.

Ong having a chat with the Uncles

This group relies on wheelchairs and walking aids due
to accidents and serious illness

Our arrival, a much bigger group than expected, brought much gaiety to the Home that afternoon. However, as the saying goes; One man's meat is another man's poison - group visits like this which is much welcomed by its residents may be deemed as disturbance by the neighbours.  Some neighbours tolerate this  situation well, but unfortunately some does not share the same tolerance, hence the complaint lodged, which puts the fate of this Home in a limbo.

We chatted with a few of the residents, each of them ended here due to different reasons and under different circumstances. Some carries painful past, while others have already left their memories behind. There are even some with their own dreams, which will be most likely be left unfulfilled. Here, time is not a factor as they have no deadlines to meet, no appointments to keep, no plans to look forward to.  Each day is the same as the other, each morning they wake up to the same routine, to the same faces. So, it's no surprise that they do not even remember the day or date.  I guess, one of the ways to tell when it's a weekend or a public holiday is when they get visits from groups of kind-hearted people.

For some, this Home is a place for them to recuperate from illness, while for others, it is a place which provides roof over their heads and food for their stomach.  For the less-positive-thinking elderlies, it is a place for them to live out the remaining years of their lives in peace.  However, this may all change very soon.  We truly hope for a positive turn of event to this Home's saga so that its residents can continue to stay here and cared for, as they have been all these years.