The world of Tzu Chi April 2021 (Vol.133)

TZU CHI 133 37 domestic tourists from visiting Malacca, hence aggravating the trishaw riders’ predicament. When Tzu Chi volunteers read about the hardships faced by the trishaw riders in media reports, they sought the promotion manager of Malacca Tourism Promotion Division, Lim Swee Kiang, to recommend a list of trishaw riders in need of help. Manager Lim expressed, “The trishaw riders requested help from us, to which I had no solution. The only thing we could do was to seek sponsorship for supplies of goods for them. When I received the phone call from a Tzu Chi volunteer offering help, I was so grateful.” According to her, there are 329 licensed trishaw riders in Malacca, many of whom have temporarily switched to other industrial work or taken up odd jobs to sustain their livelihoods because of the pandemic. Although they could still feed themselves, some older riders, or those who have no other skills, or whose families had encountered unexpected events, were in dire need of social assistance. She readily helped compile a list of really poor trishaw riders struggling to cope financially, for the volunteers to conduct home visits and assessments before providing appropriate assistance. With the name list, the volunteers took over a week to visit 27 families, and after due assessments, 17 households were given relief aids. Starting from December 2, 2020, volunteers went out in batches to present the relief cash, amounting between RM400 and RM600, to each household. The total relief fund disbursed was RM25,500. Caring for families in difficulties Other than reduced household incomes, some families also faced additional hardships brought forth by illnesses or other unexpected events during the pandemic, hence rendering them badly in need of social assistance and support. Lee Yong Soon has been a tourist trishaw rider for the past 30 years. Prior to that, he worked in the construction industry. During a downturn of the construction industry, he discovered that it was possible to earn more than RM100 daily as a trishaw rider, if one was willing to work diligently. He was convinced upon seeing some of his relatives faring pretty well as trishaw riders, so he decided to join them. However, little did he expect that he would be hit by the Covid-19 pandemic nearing his retirement age. The rising number of Covid-19 cases prevented him from going out to work. Fortunately, Tzu Chi came to his rescue. Both he and his 71-year-old uncle, Lee Kim, received cash aid from Tzu Chi. During the home visit, volunteers noticed that his uncle’s ankle was injured. It was caused by an accident while he was on the way to a house-call for water pump repair job. The wound was not well-taken care of, and it was swollen and red. The volunteers immediately arranged for a TIMA member, Chong Kiew Moy, to help clean the wound. When the volunteers visited him again a few days later to present the cash aid, they noticed that his wound had healed and he was able to walk with ease. Another trishaw rider was 21-year-old Nurul Izzati binti Abdul Karim. Her eldest son was four years old while the youngest was an infant. Her husband was arrested and jailed for drug abuse before the first MCO. She was expecting her youngest child then. She felt so helpless, especially after giving birth, as she could not pay for the baby’s milk powder. A double bed in the mother-in-law’s living room was the only resting place for her and the children. After her confinement, she started riding