Dealing with real situations

Dhinaa here with a brief posting on the welfare visits our intern, Alethea and I made earlier this month. As Kinrara is a fairly new area gained under the Subang constituency, our office works very closely with community leaders to identify low-income areas within the locality. Taman Sri Puchong and Batu 13 Puchong are two such areas. The respective Ketua Kampung accompanied us during our visits.

Our office has prepared a standard questionnaire to assess our welfare applications. The questionnaire is designed to help our office determine the amount of financial assistance received by the eligible families. The data captured through the questionnaire is also used to help our office make sense of the realities of the B40 families, to obtain a fuller picture of how B40 families live their lives and where they need help. Pictured below are seven out of the ten families we visited. Pseudonyms are used to protect the privacy of our constituents.

Norma is a stay-at-home mother of six. Her husband worked as a lorry driver and was terminated from his job two weeks prior to our visit. Having lost her family’s only source of income, Norma is struggling to put food on the table while her husband is looking for a job.

Siti is mother of 6 children; one of which is adopted. All her children are married and living away except her youngest. She works part-time at a catering establishment while trying to school her adopted son. With a fractured wrist, she can barely make ends meet.