Life Is Tough With 9 Kids 4 Handicapped And No Income

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The children share a mattress in one of the rooms at Suhaily Ramli’s flat in a public housing project in Kota Damansara.PETALING JAYA: With nine children to look after, four of them handicapped, life was already tough for former nursing assistant Suhaily Ramli when the Covid-19 crisis caused her hawker husband to lose his income
Suhaily, 44, her husband, aged 48, and their children, who range in age from one year to 22 years, live in a small flat in a public housing project in Kota Damansara
Her eldest son, who is 22, suffered a motorcycle accident four years ago. “Now he breathes through a tube from his neck.” To look after him, Suhaily gave up her job as a nursing attendant at University Malaya Medical Centre and the family relies on the income of her husband
Her two elder daughters, aged 21 and 18, both have learning disorders, while her three-year-old girl was born with the genetic disorder Down Syndrome
“Times are really tough for us,” she said. “Before the Covid-19 shutdown, I helped my husband at the night market, selling anti-odour stockings made of bamboo, at RM20 for a packet of three. In the beginning, many wanted to buy them, but as time went by, there were fewer customers.”Suhaily Ramli’s daughters share one of the rooms in the flat in Kota Damansara.She tried to take their humble business online, but the postage fees cut into their margins and left the business unprofitable
Looking after four handicapped children during this time of confinement under the movement control order has been a massive drain on her energy
“My child with Down Syndrome obviously does not understand why we cannot leave the house.” Before this, Suhaily would take her out three days a week. “Now she is pent up at home and cannot go out, and is always throwing tantrums and crying. I cannot take it any more.”With only three rooms in their flat, the children sleep on mattresses on the floor, “a few inside one room, and some outside”
The living room at Suhaily Ramli’s flat in Kota Damansara.With schools closed, her other children are deprived of lessons. “There’s no online learning for them. They stay home and I ask them to read books. We can’t afford WiFi, and don’t know how to set it up ourselves,” she said
The money she received in government aid from Bantuan Sara Hidup has been spent on other essential items
Suhaily said the family depends on food aid through zakat distributions or kind-hearted neighbours. The zakat authorities would provide three bags of rice and some sugar, she said
“Eating luxuriously – we cannot do that, of course. It’s just that we can maybe afford to buy some condiments, like canned sardines. But eating sardine every day – my kids are getting sick of it,” she said. The family could not afford to get other types of food
As she faces these challenges, she tries to remain patient. “There’s not much else to do,” she said. “Now with the MCO, a lot of people are stuck. If you have one or two children, it should be manageable, but if you have many … you can just imagine.”A few days into Ramadan, with Hari Raya Aidilfitri coming up in a month, Suhaily hopes there will be donations of clothing for her to dress her children
“Last year, we were able to go to the market and at least we could get them a change of clothes. But not this time. I feel so bad for them.” - FMT

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