Prior to moving to the city, Anne was a single mother in her 20s. Life was still not too tough then as she co-owned a tailoring business with a friend in Puchong, a situation that at the very least, afforded her some financial security.
However she needed a more spacious home for her baby and mother who lived with her, and albeit reluctantly, Anne made the heart wrenching decision to give up her partnership in the business and head to the city in search of better employment.
Meeting up with a friend, she agreed to take over a rented home that unbeknownst to her, had rental and utility bills unpaid for months on end.
“The moment I left Puchong for Pandan Indah, I found myself stuck financially.
“I was left with no money. My entire savings was used up,” she said, describing the financial limbo she found herself in after having to fork out cash, not just for the deposit for the apartment but to pay for the entire move to her new home.
Having to care for her newborn and an ageing mother, Anne was unable to work, leaving her with no source of income at all.
“I missed the first month’s rent and we were kicked out almost immediately.”
Left homeless, the three took shelter at Anjung Singgah, a homeless shelter in Kuala Lumpur, whose occupants are allowed to stay for a maximum of three months only.
Anne said the Welfare Department (JKM) also had a strict no-babies onsite policy, leaving her with the possibility of losing custody of her daughter if she overstayed.
The likelihood of being separated from her baby filled her with dread. “It has always been the three of us. We go everywhere together.”
One fateful day however, Anne bumped into one of the three friends running the Mak Minah Project at a soup kitchen in Medan Tuanku.
“I met Sara Sukor, (a Mak Minah Project member, in the above picture) when I was at the soup kitchen. She approached me and I told her my problems.
“Immediately, she set me up for an interview the following Thursday and she managed to find us a new home the next day itself,” a clearly grateful Anne said.
Speaking to FMT, Sara said Anne’s situation was similar to many others who ended-up in homeless shelters because they were flat broke.
“Many people can pay the rent but they just don’t have the money to pay the deposit. They end up ‘stuck’.”
Anne is currently taking tudung-sewing classes, hoping to revive her online business one day.