JOHOR BARU: Each day, she snaps off up to 3kg of bean sprouts to earn RM10...
It’s painstaking work for a 62-year-old who suffers from diabetes and has had one toe amputated due to the illness.
But no hardship is too severe for Dayang Noor to endure for the sake of her grandchildren.
The widow has been caring for nine grandchildren single-handedly over the past year after her son was jailed for a drug offence.
The grandchildren, aged between five and 17, have never been to school as they do not have birth certificates.
Recounting how the children came to live with her, she said she received a call from the eldest grandson informing her that his mother had left the family following his father’s imprisonment.
“It broke my heart when they pleaded for me to come.
“No grandmother would have the heart to ignore such a situation,” said Dayang, who was living in Penang at that time and struggling to walk with her toe just having been amputated.
“I rushed to Johor by bus soon after I got the call,” she said when met at her cramped two-room rented house here, which she shares with her grandchildren.
The sparse home has no TV or sofa in the living room.
Dayang, who is a mother of 13 from Sabah, used to work as a sweeper. These days, she earns a living by cleaning bean sprouts.
“I usually save half of my earnings. The rest is to pay the RM650 monthly rent and electricity bill.
“I’m grateful to have a kind landlord who gives me extra time to pay up as he knows my predicament,” she said.
Dayang, who has three other grandchildren, said her other children have their own families to look after and help out whenever they can.
She has no inkling why the nine grandchildren living with her do not have birth certificates.
“Before taking them in, I rarely had the opportunity to talk to my son. I do not know why they are stateless people despite having Malaysian parents,” she said.
On a brighter note, she said a non-governmental organisation is making attempts to enrol her grandchildren in school.
“I hope they can get an education and have a better life when they grow up.”
Yayasan Kebajikan Suria Johor Baru founder James Ho said the organisation is working on getting them to school.
“To ease their burden, we have also been giving groceries to the family for about a year.
“The groceries were previously sent once a month, but we have recently changed it to twice a month.
“We will also help them with the rent so they can use their earnings for other needs,” he added.
