SIBU - The friendship between Mohamad Ali Wan Ahmad, 48, and Abdul Rahman Rosli, 34, which was formed on the social media platform Facebook in 2013, became more meaningful as they both share a common trait - a lifelong passion for helping those in need.
The 14-year age gap never factored these willing individuals from exploring volunteer activities on weekends, despite both already having full-time jobs.
"Our interest in helping others developed naturally, and watching charity programmes on television further strengthened our desire to assist people through the right channels.
"After consulting local residents and actively seeking platforms to aid those in need, we came up with the idea to join the Home Help Service (KBDR) programme in 2022,” said Abdul Rahman when met by Bernama at the Kembara KASIH KPWKM 2024 event recently.
The KBDR volunteer initiative, under the Department of Social Welfare (JKM), provides social support services to targeted groups, namely the elderly and persons with disabilities (PWD), with volunteers conducting home visits to clients on designated days.
Abdul Rahman, who works at the Sibu Homeless Transit Centre, said that the programme opened his eyes to learn how to handle clients with different backgrounds and personalities.
"Each KBDR volunteer manages a maximum of four clients; for me, most of my clients have intellectual disabilities. Before approaching them, I study and ask their relatives about their characteristics because some PWD can speak while others cannot.
"For those with disabilities, the focus is mainly on assisting with feeding and purchasing their food supplies using the RM80 monthly aid provided by JKM for this programme,” he added, noting that he and his colleague often visit their clients' homes on weekends.
For Mohamad Ali, volunteering for the KBDR programme with elderly clients is not difficult, as he feels comfortable interacting with this group and has experience caring for his sick mother and grandmother in the past.
In contrast to the needs of the disabled community, the storekeeper at Sibu Prison shared that the services provided to the elderly include changing nappies and taking them to hospital or clinic appointments.
"At first, I was a bit afraid that the clients wouldn’t accept me, but they were happy, and I have come to think of them as my own mothers, calling them ‘mak’. It’s rewarding to see that we can bring hope to our clients, and so far I have encouraged four friends to join this programme,” he said.
The services offered by KBDR volunteers are divided into four categories: social support, health, spiritual or educational assistance, and hygiene or safety.
Meanwhile, JKM deputy director-general (strategic) Rosmahwati Ishak said that the KBDR initiative is part of Malaysia’s efforts to address the status of being an 'aging nation' by 2030, when the percentage of citizens over 60 years old is expected to reach 15.3 per cent of the total population.
She noted that the demand for social support services is on the rise, and as of August this year, a total of 2,295 volunteers are involved in the KBDR programme, serving around 8,696 clients.
"The appointed volunteers comprise local residents, as they are more familiar with their own community members, making it easier to build a relationship without communication barriers.
"Currently, Kelantan has the highest number of KBDR volunteers, with 285, followed by Sarawak (279) and Selangor (272). However, given Sarawak’s vast geography, there is a need to increase the number of volunteers in this state by submitting budget applications,” she said adding that applicants must undergo training before being allowed to handle clients.
In addition to KBDR, Rosmahwati said that the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development, through JKM, provides opportunities for local elderly residents to engage in healthy activities at 161 Senior Citizens Activity Centres (PAWE) nationwide.
"This encourages them to maintain a productive and active lifestyle. For those who cannot visit PAWE, we bring our programme to them through social outreach initiatives like KBDR,” she explained. So far, a total of 51,989 elderly individuals have registered under PAWE.
The Kembara KASIH event, which took place across eight districts in Sarawak - Kuching, Sibu, Kapit, Bintulu, Sibuti, Miri, Limbang and Lawas - offered the ministry and agencies under KPWKM an opportunity to reach out and provide assistance to registered recipients.
Approximately 12,000 Sarawakians benefited from various programmes initiated during the outreach, which ran from Sept 14 to 21, covering a distance of 1,456 kilometres. - BERNAMA