The world of Tzu Chi Augusts 2021 (Vol.136)

2021 • 08 38 The weather-beaten house stilts due to prolonged exposure to seawater and strong winds. [Photo by Kong Ngie Teck] T otoh bin Saramon and his wife, Salvia Aldamis, hailed from Kamung Mangkalinau, one of the many villages making up the town of Sandakan in Sabah. They have five children, ranging from ages one to eleven. Totoh is a fisherman while Salvia washes the laundry of the village head for a monthly token of RM120. During the MCO period in May 2020, Totoh received relief aid from Tzu Chi for the very first time. Subsequently in February 2021, Tzu Chi volunteers visited Totoh’s village to conduct home visits with the intention of reaching out to the underprivileged families for another relief distribution. Salvia, being stateless and acted out of sheer desperation, borrowed her friend’s ID and put up her application. Needless to say, her application was rejected. Salvia was so disappointed and at her wits’ end on how to carry on providing for the family as both husband and wife now had lost their sources of income. Luckily for the couple that their friend Minang helped to connect them to Tzu Chi Sandakan’s volunteer-in-charge, King Teck Ngie. With the latter’s help, the couple put up their application with Tzu Chi again. On February 21, volunteers comprising Wong Shew Fun, Ooi Seok Cheng, Justin Wong and Cheong Ming Ken paid a visit to Totoh’s home to assess their situation. As the fishing village was quite remote and inaccessible by road, the volunteer team had to leave their respective cars quite a distance away and walked for about 15 minutes before Totoh’s home was sighted! To add to the challenge, the team had to walk on unstable, rudimentary wooden bridge made up of wooden slabs and tree branches with wide gaps in between to reach Totoh’s house. Totoh’s home was so dilapidated that it could collapse any minute, putting the family in an extreme vulnerable situation. The volunteer team took turn to assess the house for fear of collapsing the structure. Salvia shared that the seawater would often seep into the house during high tides. And if that happened at night, she would then place planks over pails and basins for the children to sleep on. Once, the children even asked if they could swim in the “swimming pool”. Salvia reluctantly and helplessly agreed, lest the kids fell asleep. First thing first, supplying building materials Practising great compassion, the volunteer team unanimously agreed to help rebuild Totoh’s home. On February 26, the couple was told of the great news when the volunteer team was back to distribute food supplies and daily necessities to some villagers. Salvia was so elated to learn of the news that she expressed her gratitude to the ouching Life Story