The world of Tzu Chi (Vol.109)

2019 • 04 40 Hong Kong and Malaysia, eventually deciding to settle down in the latter. He has since been residing in Malaysia for nearly 40 years, and has earned his Malaysian citizenship. “My parents passed away long ago, so did my sister in Singapore. I have been living by myself all these years, without any relatives to depend on.” Uncle Chong lamented that the passage of time is indeed merciless. He used to work in the mole-removal line, other than a past stint as a taxi driver and working odd jobs. Several years ago, he was diagnosed with heart disease, asthma, bronchitis and high blood pressure. As his health deteriorated, so did his mobility. Now he has to rely on a walking stick. Since then, Uncle Chong has been getting by on his savings. When his savings were gradually depleted, he was in dire straits financially and owed two months’ rental. Although his landlord had been tolerant, Uncle Chong was at risk of being evicted from his room if he owed further rent. He informed, “I have no money to pay the rent. I wonder where else can I go if I were to be evicted by my landlord. I don’t think I can survive on the street in my current state of poor health. My friend gave me Tzu Chi’s contact details, saying maybe Tzu Chi would help me.” The volunteers felt sorry for Uncle Chong upon hearing his heartfelt confession. After due assessment, the volunteers decided to provide him with a monthly subsidy of RM400 for the rent, thus enabling him to retain the room which has been his only shelter for more than 30 years. The long-awaited good news With a roof over his head and RM300 worth of government welfare aid monthly, Uncle Chong has learnt to live sparingly. However, the condition of his living quarters was worrying. During the monthly home visits, Yoon Choi had always reminded Uncle Chong to clean his room and dispose of unnecessary items. “How would I be able to tidy my room when I have no strength at all? I couldn’t even lift a thing,” Uncle Chong would always reply helplessly.YoonChoiwas concerned aboutUncle Chong’s dusty and unhygienic living conditions, hence he suggested to have the volunteers assist with the clean-up, only to have his suggestion repeatedly rejected by Uncle Chong. Then one day, Uncle Chong complained to another volunteer, Leong Lai Fun that fleas had appeared out of nowhere. His sleep had been disrupted by flea bites every night. Lai Fun took the opportunity to educate Uncle Chong that his room has to be cleaned and disinfected, and the mattress replaced, in order to eradicate the problem. Uncle Chong eventually agreed to have his room cleaned by the volunteers. When new garments become old rags “With 11 volunteers present today, I think we are able to finish cleaning Uncle Chong’s 100 square feet room within an hour.” On December 9, 2018, the volunteers brought along various cleaning paraphernalia to Uncle Chong’s unit. After a short briefing by Yoon Choi on the ground floor, the volunteers went upstairs to Uncle Chong’s room and took turns to greet him. He was surprised to see the crowd and asked, “Are all of you here to clean my room? My room is very filthy. Are you sure you want to do this?” To stop Uncle Chong from changing his mind, Yoon Choi reassured him and requested him to first retrieve his valuables and stow them away temporarily in other rooms. Uncle Chong was then asked to sit outside at the corridor, so ouching Life Story