FAMILY UNIT: Gira rocks the cradle of his first grandchild while Miri looks on.
LIFE couldn’t have dealt Miri Sagen a harsher hand.
Her father was plagued all his life by leprosy while her husband, Gira Kemarau, and his mother had been similarly afflicted. Both are now cured.
To further compound her situation, fifty something Miri never fully recovered from an automobile accident which rendered her family totally dependent on their small plot of land at the MaLRA (Malaysian Leprosy Relief Association) farm.
“I met my husband at the hospital where he and my dad were treated,” said Miri who is leprosy-free.
The couple have six children — the eldest is 28 while the youngest only eight. Gira, who is cured, and his bride built their own house in Kampung Sinar Baru — the Leprosy Resettlement Area.
It was just a shack among the trees but the only home they knew for a good 20 years. It housed a family of 10, including a baby. The couple’s eldest daughter is married.
In 2001, Gira met with an accident just in front of his work place — Semogok Forestry Department – and was badly injured, leaving him with a phobia of walking in unfamiliar terrain.
“Can you imagine – it was April Fool’s Day that year – the worst day of my life. There was no day or night for me,” Miri recalled.
She had to single-handedly take care of her children and on top of that, put food on the table. As if that was not enough, life dealt her another blow when their house started to fall apart.
The roof leaked when it rained but the family continued to stay put – they had no choice — until the window and kitchen door started to crumble.
With Gira’s EPF money and their entire savings (which did not amount to much), they built another house on higher ground only a few seconds’ walk from the old house. Miri’s brother also helped out financially.
Due to the deplorable condition of their old house, the family had to move into the new house when it was still not completed. There was no kitchen — only a partially finished roof.
MaLRA stepped in to help by building a kitchen and completing the roof. Finally, the couple and their brood have a place to call home.
The children were totally dependent on their parents.
None had regular income and the second youngest refused to study and dropped out of school.
Since the accident, Gira has been having difficulties walking along the hilly terrain of the village and has to stop farming.
Presently, Miri is the only one doing the farming, bringing home each month about RM300 to RM400, supplemented by a monthly RM150 relief allowance from MaLRA.
MalCRA AID
Since its formation in 1966, MaLRA has been providing financial assistance to all leprosy patients and ex-patients and their families.
This worthy cause is funded entirely by the association — without any government grants.
School-going children of patients and ex-patients are not forgotten either — MaLCRA also gives them an allowance (pocket money). The association is helping out because it knows leprosy-patients carry a life-long stigma and will suffer the adverse consequence.
Explained MaLRA Sarawak branch chairman Joseph Kiu: “They will have problems finding work or running a small business once their past affliction is known.”
The association funds the purchase of wheelchairs and prosthetic limbs, operations for patients and even repair and construction of houses on top of the monthly relief allowances.
“They are not forgotten during festive occasions such as Christmas, Chinese New Year, Gawai and Hari Raya. They will receive angpow from us.”
To help ex-patients stand on their own feet, the association introduces farming, sewing and making of handicrafts.
Its net vegetable farming was set up in 1997, fully financed by the Agriculture Department. A piece of land with an average of 40 participants is set aside for this. So far, there are 13 participants, including ex-patients, their relatives and outsiders. A small rental fee is charged for use of the land.
MaLRA makes sure the farmers get a fair deal as the crops are sold at market value. So far, each farmer gets about RM600 to 700 per month from the sale of the vegetables.
Diversification of crops cultivation is aided by the Agriculture Department. Citrus fruits, jackfruits, coconuts, sour soaps, bananas and papayas are being planted.
Dragon fruits were also planted but due to fungus attacks last year, many of the plants died, leaving just one standing.
Among the many vegetables cultivated are kangkong, choysim, kailan and pek chai.
MaLCRA also built the multi-purpose centre at the Resettlement area. It is rented out for groceries, car wash and a motorbike workshop.
Rentals of farms and stalls are channelled back to the association to allow it to continue its work.
Kui explained: “The association is greatly in need of assistance — cash or kind — to carry on. We have been self-financing ever since and I’m afraid the day will come when we run out of cash to help the patients.”
Appealing for public contributions, he said: “We accept anything — from used clothes to food. Help us to help the patients and ex-patients.”
There are a total of 92 ex-patients in Kuching and Serian Districts.