On Friday, 25 December 2009, LTPNTY had organised our first event in our hometown Malaysia. We have had a visit to a shelter home called Rumah Titian Kasih (RTK) in Titiwangsa. It was located just near the famous Istana Budaya. Mak Pah is the supervisor and founder of the organisation. In her early 50s, she is a very passionate woman with a noble heart to help people and loving them unconditionally. RTK is probably the first shelter home owned by a Muslim owner in Malaysia. There are about 51 orphanages. This home is not limited to just orphanages but also give shelter to others who need it. There are 20 single mothers who have been abused by their husband, 12 disabled people and 2 warga emas who also live there. The address and contact detail of Rumah Titian Kasih is as following:
Address: 62A-2 Lorong Maran, Jalan Kuantan, Tasik Titwangsa 53200 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Blog: rumahtitiankasih.blogspot.com
Contact Person: Mak Pah, +6019-6455769
Located in the heart of Kuala Lumpur, this house’s location is very strategic for people to seek help. Kuala Lumpur as we know it is an ongoing city which is like a gold mine for people who are looking for money. But for some people who have been left behind and may have been forgotten by this urban development of Kuala Lumpur, Mak Pah comes in their way giving out a helping hand, taking them back up again and assist them to stand up. For those people, they can just come to this house and Mak Pah will try her best to provide them with what they need like food and a place to stay.
On that 25th December, we arrived there at about 11.00 in the morning. When we arrived, we were surprised to see that there were a few people from Cyberview Sdn Bhd who were having their charity event there. For some reason, our schedule clashed with their schedule. When they were doing their games with the orphanage, Mak Pah invited us to have a chat with her. She told us more about RTK and what they do to survive. According to Mak Pah, they pay their rent and other utilities by selling cookies and some other traditional food like ‘kueh siput’. Mak Pah will teach all single mothers who live there to make these ‘kuih’ so that they can sell them. So, every penny collected is raised on their own effort. They also get a lot of help from NGO. Some will give donation, some offer help to sell their ‘kuih’ and some offer to advertise their house through blog and other internet page. Mak Pah’s sincerity to help the unfortunate has opened a lot of eyes to help them as well. And praise to god, they get continuous help until today.
After one hour of chat and interview session with Mak Pah, we then give out the clothes. There were 3 boxes full of clothes given to RTK. The orphanages were really excited to see those boxes knowing that there would be something new that they could wear. There were also some toys donated. They sorted out clothes for woman, man and children. After picking clothes that they want to wear, they put the remaining clothes back into the box. Those remaining clothes will be washed, hang and put in plastic cover to be sold as second hand clothes. This is another way for them to collect money to pay rent and all. We were touched to see how hard they work to get money and how strong their spirit is to survive despite being in their unfortunate condition.
At 1:00 o’clock in the afternoon, the boys were off to the mosque to perform Jumaat prayer. So, the girls stayed at home and play with the children. It was a very interesting experience to spend time playing with those children. We realised that those children just need someone to love them, spend time with them. They will easily feel happy if someone would give some attention to them. But Mak Pah reminded us to not make any promise to these children. They would feel very devastated if someone were to break that promise, so it’s better for us to not make any promise to them. If we want to do something, do it sincerely.
After about 2.00pm, they boys were back from the mosque. Spending a few more time with the children, we then make our way back home. It is hard to say exactly what we felt and what had we gained during that day because you can only tell it if you are there yourself. But what can I say is that it is so peaceful to see the children smile at you. These children look up at you when they see you, you can tell by seeing in their eyes that they want to be like you when they grow up. Since they don’t have any other brothers and sisters, there are no other people they can look up to other than you, who came to visit them, who are willing to talk to them and spend time with them. It is perhaps easy to please people, easier than expected if we do it sincerely. I can smile tomorrow morning knowing I have done something good in my life today.
For more photos, do check out our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Love-The-Person-NExT-to-You/163603946364?ref=ts
cheers readers! :)
