The world of Tzu Chi June 2021 (Vol.135)

2021 • 06 46 A volunteer gave Ooi Yee Meng a haircut at the corridor. Seeing his refreshed look after grooming, his mother could not help but praise him for looking handsome. [Photo by Chia Aai Hoon] month, or that they had forgotten to bring money when they went out. When Saw Tin asked about her husband, both Saw Yong and her son could not provide an answer. They only knew he had not been home for a long time. And when Saw Tin enquired about the junk at home, Saw Yong said these were things she had collected. She had washed them and had intended to take them to a recycling vendor to sell for some money. However, since the movement control order (MCO) started in March 2020, she could not do so. Therefore, she had stored them in the living room and outside their walkway. When SawTin and Lih Jing looked around, they discovered that the light bulbs were not working and the water supply was very weak. That was perhaps the reason why Saw Yong and her son bought mineral water to drink and that was likely why there were so many bottles with used facial masks on them. The fridge did not have electricity. There was a pungent smell from the rotten fish in it. There were at least ten pails of different sizes in the bathroom, some filled with water, some had dirty clothes and an unpleasant odour. The bedsheets and blankets in the bedrooms were also yellowish in colour. Observing this, Saw Tin knew the mother and son had trouble managing house chores. Their clothes were shabby, their hair was messy, and their nails were at least one inch long. Yee Meng explained that since his mother’s eyesight had worsened, she was afraid to trim his nails, while he was afraid that ouching Life Story