Charity homes running on empty

Charity homes running on empty

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Gan Pei Ling






 · Published on 6 Nov 2017 7:00AM 

GROWING public apathy is pushing some charity homes in the Klang Valley into debt, as personal and corporate sponsors cut back on financial support in the light of rising cost of living.

For the Kirtarsh Home for Children with Disabilities, electricity and water cuts have become a regular occurrence recently, said owner Judith Pamela Muthiah.

A woman with Down’s syndrome helping to feed another occupant at the Kirtarsh Home for Children with Disabilities in Bukit Beruntung. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Seth Akmal, November 6, 2017.

Judith, 45, said the home which houses 50 orphans, senior citizens and people with disabilities aged between seven and 102 needs up to RM25,000 a month to cover food, utilities and staff salaries.

She said the amount was already considered small, as rental of the home’s premises is a mere “RM1” token fee to the owner.

Still, obtaining funding to cover the monthly expenses has become near impossible, she said.

“At best we get ‘durian runtuh’ (one-off donation) of a few thousand ringgit, especially during festive seasons, and we’ll use it to pay the urgent bills first,” she said.

“Sometimes we do receive calls from companies, but when they find out we’re in Bukit Beruntung, they said they would look for charities nearer to them,”  she said.

The home has tried to appeal to the Social Welfare Department and corporations for regular financial support to no avail.

Judith quit her full-time job as a preschool teacher several years ago to help her husband Mani @ Wannan Kanan, 49, run the home.

Mani’s late brother, a person with disability, started the home in 1999 to help others like himself.

Apart from the husband-and-wife team, the home has four staff members, who are former residents of the home, trained to become caretakers and driver.

Judith said the home has had to delay paying their salaries because of the shortage of funds.

“Fortunately, they have been very understanding,” she told The Malaysian Insight.

“We have hired caretakers, but we found that they abused the residents when we are not around, so we no longer hire outsiders.

“This isn’t a job you can do if you just want to earn money,”   she said.

Kirtarsh Home for Children with Disabilities in Bukit Beruntung houses 50 orphans, senior citizens and people with disabilities and is surviving on next to nothing. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Seth Akmal, November 6, 2017.

Charity homes that do not have land tenure security like Kirtarsh have chalked up even larger debts from rental arrears, and most can ill-afford to even hire full-timers.

S.K. Manimaran, 51, founder of the Siddharthan Care Centre in Petaling Jaya has accumulated RM120,000 in rental debt.

The centre, which was set up in 2008, currently cares for 19 orphans and children with disabilities aged between six and 12.

“The rental is RM3,500 a month. Luckily, the landlord has been understanding,” said the freelance marketing executive.

The centre does not have any staff. To save cost, his wife, sisters, daughter and in-laws double up as caretakers for the children. 

Murugan, a Komuter train driver and founder of Pusat Jagaan Sai Annai Illam in Pandamaran, Port Klang, 54, makes do with just one full-time staff member.

“The other (full-timer) is my wife. The others – me, my daughter (22), son (21), and brother-in-law are all part-time.”

He has accumulated two years’ worth of rent amounting to RM19,200, and owes electricity provider Tenaga Nasional Bhd and water supplier Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd at least RM1,000 each in arrears.

Despite the tough times, Murugan still dreams of building a permanent home for the 30 orphans, single mothers and senior citizens he and his family members are looking after.

“I just need the land. I already have contractors who offered to provide free cement to help me build the shelter,”  said Murugan.

The three homes are part of a group of 10 charities in the Klang Valley which banded together for the first time to jointly organise a fundraising concert on November 25 at Stadium Melawati, Shah Alam.

Francis Siva, 58, the founder of Independent Living Training Centre which trains people with spinal cord injury to live independently, said they hope to raise at least RM1.2 million from the concert so that each charity can take home RM100,000.

The cost of organising the concert is estimated at about RM200,000.

“The RM100,000 is a lifeline that will help sustain us for the coming year,” he said.

His centre, which currently has 10 residents, receives donations from regular donors and foundations, such as the Kuok Foundation, but these, too, have declined over the past two years due to the economic downturn.

Besides supporting the concert, Judith said any good Samaritan or business that could adopt the homes' monthly utility bills, rental, staff salary or other regular expenses would be offering a huge financial relief to the founders.

“We also need tutors for the children and doctors for the senior citizens, to just visit once a week or month would be great. 

“That would help us save on tuition cost and transport cost and time to the hospitals.

“And to play games with them (the residents). They would really appreciate it,” said Judith. – November 6, 2017.