K Sundar, 45, has been with the St Barnabas Home in Klang for the past three years. He is one of the “house-parents” for the 25 children at the home.
The children come from various backgrounds – some are orphans, while others belong to broken or low-income families.
Their different backgrounds and unruly behaviour often make it difficult to deal with them, he said.
“Sometimes we have to teach them how to be polite and how to respect their elders,” he told FMT.
But manners are by no means the most pressing difficulty faced by the home, which also suffers problems with its finances and staff.
“We want to expand and take in more children, but we struggle with settling even the basic bills,” Sundar said.
They also have trouble retaining staff as there is a lot of work pressure.
“Not everyone wants to work under the stressful conditions at homes and orphanages,” he said.
“Some employees come and work for three days and then run away.”
The St Barnabas Home spends RM8,000 to RM10,000 a month sustaining its operations. This includes payments for rent, utilities, transport and school supplies, and funding for extra-curricular activities.
It is the same story for Grace Devanbu, a former accountant who now runs a home for 30 children between four and 18 years old in Klang.
Registered 11 years ago, Waja House of Light is a shelter for orphans and children with single parents or broken families.
Devanbu, 29, says many of the children are uneducated.
“We give them tuition and we send them to our church for counselling. They also go to school, from kindergarten to Form Five,” she said.
For this, as well as expenditure such as rent, utilities, food and other supplies, the home needs RM25,000 a month.
For years, it has been relying on donations to get by.
The Waja House of Light was founded by Devanbu’s father, who is now 63.
“He still works as a postman. He’s the only one getting a salary to help the home,” she told FMT.
In terms of staff, the home is mostly a family affair.
“It’s just us – my mother, father, husband, brother, myself and two single mothers who work as volunteers. None of us expects a salary,” she said, adding that they cannot afford to hire outside staff.
Given their limited resources, it is hard to take in more children. There is only room for the truly desperate.
“We interview them first to see if they are really in need and if they are really from broken families,” Devanbu said.
Her hope is that these children grow up to be good people.
“We don’t want them to be left behind and involved in crime. We don’t want them to spoil their lives or trouble the people around them.
“We want them to be independent. We want them to show their friends that they can make it in life too.”