DMA: An
Bettie
Sidi MHII 280111 060611
Wednesday
December 22, 2010
SKUP ‘Angels’ give the needy every reason to keep the faith
Story
and photos by ZORA CHAN
FOR the past one month, 39-year-old Betty Sidi has been going for her
morning walk from her shabby wooden squatter home at Jalan
Kilang Simen to the Sungai Apong market.
She
will either bring along her five-month-old baby or two-year-old second youngest
daughter Connie.
Once
at the market, she will join other men and women waiting patiently for a white
van bearing the name ‘Society For The Kuching Urban
Poor’ or Skup to come.
Timely gift: Skup
volunteer Mary Chok distributing packed food to a recipient at the Sungai Apong market in Kuching.
Betty
is among the 30 recipients from Sungai Apong and
nearby area of a charitable programme called “Mobile Soup Kitchen” run by Skup.
“My
husband works as a fishermen but since the rainy
season started last month, he can’t go out to sea. He won’t be able to do so
until after the Chinese New Year.
“So,
our family will not have income for at least four months. But thanks to Skup, we can have some food supply for our seven children
who are between 18 and five months old,” she told StarMetro
on Monday. Betty said volunteers from Skup were like
angels who worked hard and sincerely for the poor like her.
She
learned about Skup’s Mobile Soup Kitchen from friends
who received the free food assistance a few weeks earlier than her.
“Even
if my husband is able to fish, his income is just around RM400 and we’re
struggling to make ends meet,” she said.
Thankful: Betty and daughter Connie are
delighted to receive the food items.
She
said they moved from Pantu in Sri Aman Division,
nearly three hours drive from Kuching 20 years ago to seek employment and
hopefully, a better life.
“Life
has been very tough for us,” she lamented.
Sometimes,
she said she would gather tapioca leaves and wild ferns growing on empty plots
of land to feed the family.
“But
Skup is giving us hope that we have been praying
for,” she said.
“I
can’t go to work because there’s no one to take care
my children,” she said adding that her children had also dropped out from
school.
After
receiving her food from Skup, Betty made her back
home.
Skup
secretary Fabian Wong said the society was a non-profit organisation aiming to
help the hardcore poor and needy in Kuching, irrespective of race, religion or
political affiliation.
“It is also a non-governmental
organisation and does not receive any fund or aid from the government to date.
It is a young society in Kuching established officially on March 19,” he
explained.
Skup’s Mobile Soup
Kitchen started operations on Sept 20 with 100 recipients and this figure had
increased to 200.
“We expect to have 300 recipients by
March next year,” he said adding that they comprised Dayaks,
Chinese and Malays.
Wong said as the poor were scattered
throughout the city, the society thought the best plan for now was to deploy a
mobile soup kitchen and distribute the meals in six designated distribution
points namely Song Kheng Hai Ground Food and Recreation Centre, Petanak wet
market, Sungai Apong
market, Taman Desa
Wira market, Poh
Kwong Park roundabout shed and Unaco Supermarket
at Nanas Road West.
He said the delivery van manned by
volunteers would deliver the meals to these points from Monday to Saturday, including
public holidays.
“The public and poor are informed of the
timings of the arrivals of the van,” he said.
“However, we’ll be taking a break from
Dec 24, 25 and 26. So, we’ll be distributing extra dry food supplies on Dec 23
so that the people will have enough food supply for the next few days,” he
said.
He added that Skup
also helped the poor to apply for birth certificates, MyKasih
programme, welfare and educational aids.
Skup welcomes
donations in cash or in kind such as food stuff (dried noodles, bread, butter,
jam or kaya), vitamins for young and old, simple
medical products/drugs, baby lotions, powder, school uniforms, school
bags/shoes, work books, exercise books and stationeries.
Skup and Wong can
be reached at 017-8515225,
or No. 105, RH
Plaza, Lorong Lapangan Terbang 1, 93250 Kuching.
Donation is payable to The Society for
Kuching Urban Poor,
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/12/22/sarawak/7658441&sec=sarawak