The world of Tzu Chi (Vol.111)

2019 • 06 44 worried that the latter’s mental health would be adversely affected. “Back in Malaysia, I learnt that my husband’s mistress had left for good. I decided to take a chance on fate by not only reconciling with my husband, but also offering him the money I had earned in Japan to help him start a second- hand car business,” she recounted. Koi Chin entrusted her husbandwithmore than RM200,000 as startup capital. However, he not only gambled away the monumental sum in less than three years and accomplished nothing, but even acquired a bank loan in Koi Chin’s name. Koi Chin was eventually forced to file for bankruptcy as she had no savings left to repay the loan. She was overcome with anger and resentment at being saddled with a debt of over RM100,000. She searched in vain for an explanation to the injustice piled upon her – a grievance she thought herself undeserving of as she has always been helpful and kind. It dawned upon her that there was no use crying over spilt milk, so she braced herself for the challenges life threw her way and secured gainful employment for the sake of her mother as well as her daughters. “At the time, I couldn’t count on my two remaining brothers to care for our mother, who frequently lost her bearings. One of them was diagnosed with depression, while the other had his own family with a sickly member to provide for. So we decided to send our mother to a nursing home to ensure her safety. I volunteered to bear the care-giving costs, hence I had no choice but to work, as my mother and my daughters relied on me for sustenance,” she related. Looking back, Koi Chin could not help but wonder how she had managed to pull through those times of hardship, save for the fact that she toiled hard to earn a living. After a few years, she had finally saved enough to afford the down payment for a condominium unit, which she bought under her husband’s name. Little did she expect that several years later, the property would be sold without her consent; she was not compensated with a single cent from the deal. Exasperated, she was determined to sever all ties with her husband and sought a divorce. Catching up on volunteering “My life was like a soap opera with a winding plot of never-ending misfortunes. I was constantly worried of the trials that fate would send my way,” mused Koi Chin, whose life had hung in the balance until she was eligible to apply for a public housing unit. With a roof over her head and a job, she gradually felt that luck was on her side. However, in 2013, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She gritted her teeth through the rigours of surgeries, electrotherapy and chemotherapy, but the cancer relapsed the following year. As she waged her second Kang Koi Chin has been assuming the role of volunteer- in-charge for a Tzu Chi recycling point for five years. [Photograph by Aw Lee Ching] eople