Kasing Balang
LAWAS (Feb 6): Single mother Kasing Balang, 56, remembers having to walk 3km between her house and her father’s on the other side of the village in Long Tengoa, near here, every day.
Balang Soltan, who will soon turn 98, is too old to care for Kasing’s two brothers, both of whom are individuals with special needs (OKUs).
The house in Long Tengoa where Kasing, her elderly father and her OKU brothers live in.
Since her divorce in 2013, Kasing had been taking turns with her younger sisters – Saran and Ilis – in taking care of their ageing father and their brothers.
“After completing all the chores at my house, I would walk to my father’s house to check on him and my brothers.
“I would take turns with Saran and Ilis to do the cooking and the cleaning,” said Kasing, whose plight was recently highlighted by local activist Agnes Padan.
Saran, 50, remarried last year and moved to Merapok after that.
This left Kasing with no choice but to move into her father’s house to fill in the spot left by Saran.
Balang will turn 98 soon.
“Saran relocated to here from Sibu, bringing along her five children, and they lived with my father after the divorce from her first husband.
“Saran does visit the family occasionally after having remarried.
“My daughter is in Form 3 now, while my twin boys are in Form 2. They’re bigger now and are quite independent, making it easier for me to move back to my father’s house,” she said.
Kasing is also an OKU – she has been hearing-impaired since childhood.
She communicates with people using simple hand signs.
She told thesundaypost that her husband left her because of her condition.
“One day, he threw hot water on me. The scar from that incident is still on my body.”
In view of her single-mother and OKU status, Kasing is eligible to receive RM300 in monthly assistance from the Welfare Department (JKM).
However, cash is still tight with three school-going children under her sole care.
“RM300 monthly is not enough; that is why I accept odd jobs from villagers such as collecting oil-palm FFBs (fresh fruit bunches), where I can earn RM30 for a morning-to-noon work.
“But I always worry about leaving my father and my brothers unattended, so I’d accept side jobs only when there is someone available to look after them while I’m at work.
(From right) Saran with Lakai, Sigar, Balang, and her sister Ilis.
Saran, who was also present during the interview, said out of her 11 siblings, four had OKU status: Kasing, Por who is also deaf, and Sigar and Lakai whose conditions had rendered them truly unable to fend for themselves.
“Thanks to the JKM for the monthly assistance, we have been able to buy food and other supplies.
Por at his own house, just next to his father’s.
“Por lives next door – he saved some of the money from the JKM aid to build his own house.”
Saran, however, said they would be grateful if there were some good Samaritans out there willing to help repair their father’s house to better accommodate him and their OKU brothers.
from Borneo Post Online https://bit.ly/3HzivEY
via IFTTT
No comments:
Post a Comment