The world of Tzu Chi February 2020 (Vol.119)

eature P ook Kiang Thong, 83, has been living in the Sungai Buloh Leprosy Settlement for over half a century. “I don’t remember anymore,” he replied wistfully when asked by a volunteer about his past, as he sat alone on his bed in the patients’ ward, looking pale and gaunt. Kiang Thong was born in the jungles of Ipoh as the youngest among four siblings. After his father passed away when he was five, he helped his mother to tend to the family farm, growing crops and rearing livestock for a living. He contracted leprosy at the age of eight. When he turned ten, his fingers began to stiffen and curl inwards. The flesh on his left leg started putrefying, but he lacked access to medication. Whenever he cried out of unbearable pain, all his mother could do was look on helplessly and console him, “You’ll recover when you turn 18.” However, his condition persisted until he was 26 and the festering wound on his left leg continued to deteriorate. He travelled from his hometown to the Sungai Buloh Leprosy Settlement, where the doctor ordered an immediate operation to amputate his infected leg, thus saving his life. Some time ago, Kiang Thong earned himself the moniker of “Grandpa Umbra” as he used to plant umbra trees in abundance around his wooden chalet in the settlement. Despite his deformed limbs, he was capable of sustaining his own livelihood through the sale of the umbra fruits harvested from his plantation. His health is fast declining as he ages; he smiled weakly at the visiting volunteers and looked around in a daze. “I sympathize with the elderly residents here. Life is unpredictable, hence I feel compelled to cherish the remaining time I have with these old folks by showering them with love and care,” mused volunteer Liu Soon Keong, who has been volunteering with Tzu Chi for over two decades. He sighed mournfully at the thought of the imminent demise of these ageing seniors who are getting weaker by the day as their population dwindles from more than 1,000 to less than 100 now. Over two decades of tireless service Tzu Chi KL & Selangor volunteers have been providing care to the residents of the Sungai Buloh Leprosy Settlement since 1994, with more than 50 volunteers participating in each visit. For the past 26 years, the volunteers distributed aid in the form of monetary subsidies and material supplies, besides 2020 • 02 06