Alvin recounts his life in Kuala Lumpur in the presence of wife (left) and Manjeet at Kuching International Airport. — Photo by Chimon Upon
KUCHING: Alvin Agong was 17 when he decided to make a living in Kuala Lumpur but now at 26, the Sarawakian had been homeless for a month in the nation’s capital city.
It did not occur to him that it would be so tough to make a living in the big city until he actually made it there. All he has ever wanted was to help the family financially. During those homeless days, Alvin said he would not know how to look at things on a brighter perspective given the awkward predicament.
“It was as though my life had been torn apart, and I could not see hope but a bleak future,” he said when met at Kuching International Airport yesterday.
Thanks to social activist Manjeet Sidhu, who runs non-governmental organisation ‘Help Somebody’, Alvin and his wife Noor Idayu A Razak, 24, finally made it home.
Manjeet also helps a KL-based NGO ‘Teddy Mobile Clinic’.
According to Alvin, he flew to KL with the help of a job agent in 2007. He worked at a construction site, on and off. He did not have a stable income.
“Sometimes I worked, sometimes I didn’t. Sometimes when I worked I did not get paid because some subcontractors ran off just like that.”
Until over a month ago, Alvin and his wife struggled to make ends meet. When he could not bring home the bacon, the couple ended up living on the street right in the city centre.
The couple is not alone. He said there were other Sarawakians sharing similar fates.
“I slept on the street for about a month. There are six or seven others who are also Sarawakians like me, homeless. We could not find jobs but luckily the NGO there has been feeding us. They provided us meals and sometimes other daily needs. When we had to take a bath, we went to the mosque nearby or KL Sentral. It’s free.”
Alvin said he longed for home, but he had no money to buy tickets for himself and his wife, who is now six months’ pregnant.
He claimed he had asked an NGO in KL to help with the tickets, but they were turned down. However, they considered themselves not so unfortunate as Manjeet had timely reached out to them.
The couple is expecting their second child. Their first son was born in 2009, who is now living with Idayu’s mother.
“My son has been living with my mother. He is now in Primary 2. We left him with my mother in Johor because he is already used to his grandmother,” Noor Idayu said.
Now that he is home, Alvin said he could not wait to put his homeless life behind and was aiming for a fresh start. He was waiting for his mother and stepfather to pick them up at the airport when the interview took place in the presence of Manjeet.
The couple was later brought to Sematan, Alvin’s hometown, while Manjeet pledged to arrange for a job for him. According to Manjeet, Alvin’s was not an isolated case because ‘there are many more who need our help’.
“I want to bring all of them back; I don’t want them to suffer there. Many of them went to KL in the hope of making big money,” she said.
Little did they know, life could be turned upside down if they had not been cautious, she added.
Alvin did admit he had drinking and gambling issues because of peer influence. He regretted this as much as he wanted a new life.
Even though many others also needed help, Manjeet said she prioritised this couple because their second child would be coming soon.
“The wife is going to deliver any time now. So I want to bring them back, let them settle down first so that the baby can be taken care of.” Manjeet said she would personally monitor Alvin for at least three months while hoping that the community could lend a hand to those in need.
“I have reported the situation to the minister (Welfare, Women and Community Wellbeing Minister Datuk Fatimah Abdullah). But when it comes to government procedures, it will take two to three months. So it is easier if NGO comes in.”
Manjeet hoped that individuals would support the NGO financially so that more Sarawakians particularly those homeless in KL could get assistance. She can be contacted at 014-692 6123. NGOs Help Somebody and Teddy Mobile Clinic are also available on Facebook.