The world of Tzu Chi Nov-Dec 2021 (Vol.138)

2021 • 12 32 Priceless festive gifts At another place, volunteers Tan Yow Jiuan, Cheah Phaik Khoon, Loo Pan Lian and Tong Jon Bee brought the gift packs to Batang Melaka, and visited five Hindu families. When they came to the house of Meenaehi a/p Munugan, her three children were overjoyed to see the cookies and beverages. Her five- year-old boy was overjoyed with the chocolate drink package. Meenaehi explained, “My son always asked for this, but I had no money for that. I could not even afford milk powder, so at his tender age, I gave him coffee and black tea. There were three times where his heart stopped, and only out of danger after emergency rescue.” At that time, the doctor diagnosed that her son had heart problem, and only then did Meenaehi know that kids should not drink coffee, tea and other caffeinated drinks. However, owing to financial issues, she could not afford to buy nutritious food for her children. Meenaehi’s husband, too, has heart disease and cannot do hard labour jobs. The couple used to work in a restaurant, but they lost their jobs due to the pandemic. Now, Meenaehi works as a rubber tapper, earning RM20 to RM30 a day to support her family and pay rental of RM200-plus. The volunteers learnt about their plight in May, when they called to ask about her child, who applied for Tzu Chi study grant. Hence, they immediately sent some daily necessities and helped Meenaehi’s children apply for free mobile phones provided by the Government. They also helped pay for the Internet fees so that the children could attend online classes, and started to care for the family on a monthly basis. Meenaehi shared that in the past few years, Deepavali was no different from any other days for them. There were no celebrative activities, festive food and pastries, or new clothes. She expressed, “I am very happy to receive this gift pack, thank you! There are many items, including flour for Indian pastries. I will borrow some tools from my friend to make pastries. Finally, we will have some pastries for the occasion this year!” Never stop caring For Silah a/p Essyari, it was not the first time she received a Deepavali gift pack from Tzu Chi. In 2011, her husband, Saravanan a/l Chinappa, sustained arm and leg injuries in a car accident and could not work temporarily. As their five children were still young and she had been a homemaker without any income, she approached Tzu Chi for assistance. Following that, Tzu Chi started providing care and subsidies for their living expenses, until her husband recovered and was financially independent. Although the assistance had stopped in February 2012, the volunteers continued to care for the family occasionally. Their life was stable with Saravanan working as a truck driver, while Silah became his assistant. Unfortunately, they fell into another financial predicament in November 2020. Saravanan had to undergo a heart surgery and ouching Life Story