PETALING JAYA: To address the plight of abandoned and unwanted babies, four mothers have banded together to help single mothers deal with the challenges of unwanted pregnancies.
Despite having full-time jobs and children of their own, the four women who run the non-profit organisation Rumah Kita devote their efforts every day to supporting and sheltering single women so that they can successfully carry through their pregnancy and become mothers.
“Our mission is to reduce the occurrence of baby dumping within the community and to change the stigma within society that regards pregnant women without husbands as an embarrassment and burden to their families and society.
“Being mothers, we all understand the challenges of giving birth and raising children, and we want to help those who have to do it alone,” said Cecily Andrews Fourrier, who is in charge of Rumah Kita’s public relations and communications.
The stigma associated with unmarried women getting pregnant often causes these mothers to abandon their babies, with the most recent case being a newborn girl found abandoned on a staircase at an apartment in Johor Baru.
According to the police, there were 256 cases of abandoned babies between 2020 and 2022. This was up from 128 cases in 2018 and 125 cases in 2019.
Since its founding in 2015, Rumah Kita has provided temporary housing, essential mother-baby supplies, and emotional support for pregnant single women who are either turned away or unable to get support from their own families.
It also provides these mothers access to safe delivery at hospitals or clinics, prenatal and postnatal healthcare, as well as birth registration with the National Registration Department.
To date, the organisation has aided 384 babies and their mothers, while 80% of these women have gone back to their families.
Leading the way is Suraya Razak, who manages the care home full-time in Kuala Lumpur in honour of her late sister and organisation founder, Vimmi Razak, who died in 2018.
Besides Suraya and Fourrier, who is a certified emotional intelligence practitioner, the other members are catering company owner Mardina and fashion designer Wendy Ng, all of whom are volunteers.
Besides caring for the residents, the four want to change society’s negative view of women with unplanned pregnancies by training their charges on how they can carve out a new independent life for themselves as single mothers.
This involves giving the residents emotional support and professional advice, not only to overcome the challenges of carrying through their pregnancy and raising their child, but also to find jobs that can sustain them 100 days after childbirth.
“Rumah Kita will also continue to support single mothers if they are unable to get on their feet after 100 days,” said Fourrier.
“If a mother is still unable to sustain herself or her family still can’t accept them, we will allow her to stay longer until she is able to do so before leaving the home.
“We refuse to abandon these women in need. We want them to reclaim their lives and be able to confidently raise their child,” she said.
The home is open to all women in need, regardless of religion, race or class, including stateless and foreign mothers.
Through cooperation with the Welfare Department, the organisation identifies women in need across the country and arranges for them to be brought home.
“We even drive these women to the home if their family is unable to arrange for them to get here. We have even arranged and paid for airfare to fly women from East Malaysia, although this is not common,” said Cecily.
These costs are in addition to the RM21,000 per month that is used to pay for the home’s rent, utility bills, baby supplies, maintenance and fuel, groceries and healthcare.
For details, visit Rumah Kita at www.ngorumahkita.com
