Much appreciated: Bernama Kelantan’s bureau chief Noor Bakhtiar Ahmad (right) presenting monetary aid to Rokaid (second, right) through the Tabung Kasih@Hawana initiative when visiting him in Kampung Selising. Looking on are Nurin (left) and Rosmahani. — Bernama
PASIR PUTEH: A former reporter who is bedridden after suffering three strokes is grateful for the donation he received from the media fraternity through the Kasih@Hawana Fund.
Despite having speech and hearing problems, Rokaid Chik, 58, who used to work part-time for Berita Harian in Kelantan, expressed how moved he was.
According to Rokaid’s wife, Rosmahani Ramli, 58, her husband first suffered a minor stroke in 2014, but recovered after several treatments.
“The second stroke was in 2018, and in 2020, he suffered a third stroke, which left him in a coma for three months. Now, both sides of his body cannot function normally. He cannot move and has lost his hearing.
“Because he can’t hear, we communicate using WhatsApp even though I’m just next to him,” she told Bernama after receiving a donation from the National Journalists Day 2023 (Hawana) secretariat at her residence in Kampung Selising here on Wednesday.
Rosmahani said that since Rokaid stopped working, she has had to manage all the family’s expenses, including paying her husband’s caretaker and covering the costs of their two children’s education.
“There is no one at home when I go out to teach at school, so I hire someone to care for him while I’m at work. I have applied for early retirement this year to care for my husband,” she said.
Meanwhile, the couple’s youngest child, Nurin Atuni Sofea, 19, said she would study medicine at a university in Egypt early next month to realise her father’s wish of seeing her become a doctor.
However, the family has to fork out RM40,000 a year for her tuition fee, apart from accommodation and other necessities.
“I hope everything will work out and that I will be to achieve this goal and bring joy to my parents,” she said.
The Kasih@Hawana Fund, created in conjunction with Hawana 2023, aims to support media practitioners, former media personnel and veteran journalists who are in dire need of help.
It is an initiative of the Communications and Digital Ministry and implemented via Bernama.
