PETALING JAYA, April 24 — Dr Nur Hidayah Abu Bakar has been helping people since the start of the Covid-19 movement control order (MCO).
The dentist and Divakar Sivasubramaniam spearhead the Gombak division of Caremongering Malaysia, a movement that calls upon Malaysians to check up on their neighbours and do grocery runs for them if they are unable to leave the house.
But on Wednesday night, she was overwhelmed with a sense of helplessness as she left a refugee village.
This was because she didn’t know how to help marginalised communities in a big way.
“The Gombak Caremongering group can only help them in small ways — such as delivering these items during the MCO.
“However, we’re unsure whether these assistance can be catered to them beyond the MCO period because our supplies are for the immediate needs of the community.”
She voiced hope that other stakeholders would be able to aid them so they could stand on their own feet and be self-sustenance.
She had gone to the village to distribute food packets and hygiene supplies to families and narrated her experience on the Caremongering Malaysia Facebook group.
According to her, the refugee community had called their hotline group to seek assistance for food supplies, which was why Dr Nur Hidayah had to head to their homes.
She described that it was raining heavily when her friend and her arrived at one of the villages — but that did not hamper their spirits to reach out to these needy communities.
When her friend and her arrived, many of the refugees were already waiting outside their houses, waiting anxiously for their food packets.
“Usually help would be given out to these communities by individuals and the food supplies can only feed 20 to 40 families.
“Last night however, my friend and I brought food supplies and hygiene packs such as hand sanitisers and face masks to give to these vulnerable communities.
The food supplies and hygiene packs were all distributed by various organisations.
An interesting observation that Dr Nur Hidayah also took into account was how these refugees prioritised families who had children, women first before taking their food products.
When asked as to why it was crucial to help them, she said it was because their jobs mainly relied on daily wages such as construction workers and labourers.
“With the MCO being enforced, it is so difficult for them to earn an income and to keep their families afloat as they have no jobs.
“Sometimes, their neighbours would give them food but it’s never enough to sustain themselves for months during the MCO.”
While she was there at the village last night, she also managed to advise one of the refugees to work hard and to educate themselves — either by doing handicrafts — so that they can be self sustenance.
“I also told them that it is important for them to save up on a rainy day too - such as by having an emergency fund so that they can utilise it at times like these.”
A local neighbour who saw the incident unfolded yesterday also commended the efforts by Dr Nur Hidayah and her friend.
“You have done a great deed by helping them out,” said the neighbour who occasionally helps one or two families when he can.
So far, the Caremongering group has helped 1,000 families from all walks of lives, according to Dr Nur Hidayah.
