If you have watched this programme staged by NTV7 on Saturday evenings, you will soon realise that life is very certainly hard on some people. I have to confess that my parents and now my spouse have given me enough for me to savour in the beautiful things of life; at least there is food on the table at any one time and more...
While exercising on the machine last Saturday I came across this edition of Helping Hands in which a poverty-stricken family was rescued from their plight by this organisation. Helping Hands chose a family of 8 ; husband, wife, 2 daughters and 4 sons somewhere in the outskirts of the country who fell short of almost everything in life; food, shelter and schooling opportunities.
Encik Zhou has an Indian spouse who provided much for him as he is cataract-stricken and frail in health. Shanti is a bubbly, warm and strong lady who functions as the bread winner of the home. Sadly, the funds are insufficient and the eldest girl, 18 dropped out of school to look after papa and her siblings. However, the couple realised that education is the key to spur them out of the vicious cycle and strive to provide a decent education but miserably.
The children had to study under dim lightings and write on the floor; no chairs and tables. The beds are in deplorable state and there is almost nothing worth mentioning in the kitchen. How does one get out of this indecent living?
Helping Hands interceded for them ; cleared the place , gave it a new coat of colours and furnished it with furniture and crockery. Now, the children have proper tables and chairs for study, decent beds and pillows to rest their heads and a functioning kitchen. Then they bought a cake to celebrate the 70th birthday of Encik Zhou who cried when he blew candles for the first time in his life. Shanti related that none had ever celebrated birthdays before in the home and this first birthday bash was unimaginable. Furthermore the youngest sibling blew a kiss on papa showing how much affection he had for his papa.
I was affected by the documentary as it made me realise that though I am already half a century old, I have yet to come face to face with such poverty in anyone's life. I felt grateful to God for His countless grace and hope that my children too will realise it and make it good in life. But most of all, I was touched by this inter-racial marriage by which Shanti proved to be the best thing that could happen to Encik Zhou's life. She was a tower of strength for him; I could discern that immediately and provided him a family that gave him warmth and later in life they will continue to shelter and care for him. There was this closeness that I could perceive.
Then there is this fantastic communication pattern that I observe from their conversations with one another. All siblings go to Chinese Vernacular streams and so they converse with the public and their papa in Mandarin and mama speaks Tamil with them. Above all, papa communicates with mama in the Malay Lingo and isn't all this 'Satu Malaysia'? So they will celebrate Chinese New Year, Deepavali and even Christmas all in one spirit? Simple folks with simple beliefs and ways of life; you will be surprised that though poor, they may have tasted the best of living in their simplicity minus the sophistication.
After the documentary, I became more conscious of everything around me and counted my blessings, one by one.
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