PETALING JAYA – The afternoon interview with, Azizah Saad, a 59-year-old single mother who dwells at an unsightly flat in Ara Damansara – where a philanthropic exercise was taking place – was a tad challenging.
The constant grunt of her 30-year-old epileptic son – Mohd Faiz Zulkarnain – coupled with his playful tugging of her arms made it almost impossible for her to converse uninterruptedly.
"So sorry,” Azizah apologised while gently resisting the pull of her son, who has the mind of three-year-old. "He only acts this way if there are guests; otherwise, he would just play on his own.”
Mohd Faiz was diagnosed with epilepsy when he was 10-month-old after suffering from bouts of high fever; and from then on, had to rely on medications for the rest of his life.
Caring for her firstborn is no easy feat but a mother’s love seldom wavers.
"Tired. Exhausted. I felt it all, but I love him. He is my child, so I don’t let those feelings linger.
"I believed that this is Allah’s way of making me walk the path to heaven,” she said with a kind smile that only a caring mother would put on.
Azizah was one of the hundreds of the urban poor at the flat who received groceries handouts free medical check-ups sponsored by Mitsubishi Motors, KPJ Damansara Specialist Hospital and Karangkraf Media Group on Sunday.
Like many of the urban poor who were deeply affected by movement restrictions due to Covid-19, Azizah, who currently squats at an empty unit in the flat, was thankful of the helping hand.
"But I am quite lucky. I sell frozen curry puffs for a living and because people need to eat, I still manage to earn to keep my family afloat,” said Azizah.
Another resident, Norzaida Ismail, 59, was also thankful of the grocery aid, saying that it helped ease her financial burden.
"I do receive the monthly allowance from the government but with this handout I get to set aside some extra cash,” she remarked.
Besides donations and health screening, volunteers from the three corporate entities also managed to clean up a total of six ton of garbage littering the flat in mere three hours.
"We would like to thank everyone who are involved in this programme for the urban poor,” said Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia head of sales Johan Adha.
The children there were also entertained by various games from the Sinar Rovers team during the commencement of the programme.
Also present at the event were Sinar Karangkraf Group head of marketing and branding Nik Justin Nik Mohd Ariffin and KPJ Damansara Specialist Hospital medical director Dr Rozman Idrus, with the latter spearheading the door-to-door check-up for the flat’s bedridden residents.