BUKIT MERTAJAM: In a two-storey house in Jalan Mega Jaya, Taman Mega Jaya, live many orphans and underprivileged girls.
Even though the house is in the heart of this bustling town, most neighbours do not know the children because they troop off to school before dawn every day.
But come sahur during Ramadan, they are up before 5am and their morning merriment enlivens the neighbourhood.
Many of the girls have no families but they have each other. And the fasting month goes beyond spiritual observances and includes their laughter, love and togetherness at the NGO Rumah Bakti Kasih Ayah Bonda.
A 16-year-old resident here recalled her past in Kuala Lumpur, when she lived with her elderly grandmother.
“Before coming to the home here in 2022, I lived with my grandmother. After she got ill, I was sent here,” she said.
She never knew her parents and does not know what had happened following her birth, but she has put all that behind her.
She returns to her grandmother’s home when Hari Raya Aidilfitri draws near, and the question of where her parents might be, surfaces again.
“Like any teenager, I want to know my parents during Hari Raya,” she said.
A fellow resident, who is 13, has mixed feelings too. While she looks forward to the joyous occasion, the absence of her father casts a shadow.
“I never met my father. I don’t know where he is and sometimes I wonder who he is,” said the young teenager.
She said she feels lucky to still have her mother, who works as a cleaner in Nibong Tebal where she lives with the girl’s stepfather and two step-siblings.
She misses the warmth and companionship of her mother and yearns to celebrate the festive occasion by her mother’s side, sharing in the joy of new clothes and good food.
Although she may never have the opportunity to meet her father, she holds on to the hope of creating new memories with her family, embracing the spirit of Hari Raya with unwavering faith and gratitude.
“I love being here but I also miss my mother a lot,” she said, adding that she would spend the coming Hari Raya at her mother’s house.
The youngest member of Rumah Bakti Kasih Ayah Bonda is an eight-year-old who has lived there for about a year.
The Year Two pupil said she had lived in many foster homes since she was a toddler.
“I don’t know who my parents are; I don’t know where they are,” she said.
She said that every Ramadan and Hari Raya, she would wish that she could somehow be with her parents.
But she admitted to having a happy life with her “sisters” in the home.
Eleven girls live in Rumah Bakti Kasih Ayah Bonda.
Founded by Siti Nur Ain Syahirah Johari in 2022, the home provides underprivileged children and orphans with a conducive living and learning environment.
“We make sure every girl in our home gets a good education,” she said.
Siti Nur said her husband, a civil servant, helps with the daily operations of the home when he was free.
She said that most of the girls living in the home come from broken families and underprivileged background.
The girls are aged between six and 17 years.
Siti Nur said she used her own savings to start the home.
She added that she sometimes receiveddonations from the public in cash and kind.
Those who wish to help can contact Rumah Bakti Kasih Ayah Bonda at 04-551 4065 or 014-306 3756.
