Yayasan Suria JB (YSJB) – The “feel” and the “urgency” in helping our clients!
With 2 or 3 calls/messages a day requesting for help, it is a daunting task of screening/vetting who is genuine, who is not and who to help first.
Usually, we request them to send us a message stating their names, addresses, family details and why they needed help. Any documents/photos will be useful in helping us to decide whether to give assistance.
However, there are some who don’t know how to use Whatsapp or don’t have a smart phone. In this case, we got to take down the particulars and visit them – these are mainly the elderlies who are not tech savvy.
Due to the many years of experience in this field of helping people, with the information given and a call or two(plus a small prayer for God’s guidance), we zoomed in and 99% of the time the clients remarked:
“Uncle, my provisions were just about to finish and Uncle came in.”
“I don’t know where to get some money to buy provisions for my business and Uncle came in today to help me buy the things I needed for my business.”
2 recent cases:
- A woman came to our office to be interviewed as I want to see and hear her side of the story after she provided me all the information in Whatapps.As she related her story about her family – husband passed away 6 months ago, followed by her child 2 months after due to cancer, she wanted to start a business nearby selling drinks at a stall.Her body language was real, tears were flowing and I stopped her from relating the story further. Somehow, you can sensed that the story was real!We don’t have much money left due to our dwindling income of late, but how could we not help someone in dire need?I did not have much money with me then, and a volunteer walked in.
Quickly, I asked him whether he got RM500 and he said “yes”. I told the woman, the Foundation will give her RM500 cash to buy the things she needed for her business and to take a food bank from our office which costs about RM180.
We shall give her another RM500 next month and food bank again. Thereafter, the cash aid will stop (total RM1,000) but if she needs a food bank, she is welcome to take one from the office.
We sincerely hope “that little push of RM500” will enable her to start a business, be independent/stand on her own feet so that we don’t have to support her anymore and we can go on helping others.
We took her to our store where she took a blender, electrical gadgets, pots and pans, plates, cups, etc for her business.
She thanked us profusely, with tears rolling down, so grateful and kept on repeating “Alhamdulillah.
“Before she left, she insisted she wanted to donate RM10 into the donation box sitting on the table, we obliged – this is “really giving” (giving when you yourself don’t have) and this kind gesture touched me so much that my tears flowed uncontrollably.
Sometimes, we have so much to learn from our clients!
Later, I shared this story with our synergy partner, Ihsan Johor, Puan Farrah, and she told me this was the same woman YSJB gave Nutren milk powder to her cancer stricken child some time ago. So, this was the same woman!
- Another call came in, this time from another client who wanted to know when I shall be visiting him – he sounded desparte, was polite and the tone of his voice told me I must visit him.
Quickly packed a food bank and drove 35 mins away to meet this man. He came down from the flat, so thankful I came, asked him a few questions and I immediately sensed that he was genuine as he could relate exactly what he wrote to me via WhatsApp.He told me his food provisions have just finished. With 7 mouths to feed (he has 7 children) and with no money, he said he has been praying hard and YSJB appeared.
He kept on shaking my hands, kept on saying “Alhamdulillah” (Praise be to God/thank God) and he was so thankful and grateful.
These are just some of the many stories and encounters each time we go to help our clients for the first time.
For information, we shall be giving him food bank monthly and RM150 cash aid from 1st Feb 2023, just to help out until he can start work again when he recovers from slipped disc, his wife works in the nearby restaurant and he looks after the kids while his wife works.
God’s timing is always perfect – HE directs us to where help is needed, we just follow, we are just his instruments!
“I shall pass this way but once; any good that I can do or any kindness I can show to any human being; let me do it now. Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.”