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Coffee Shop Talk - No furniture, but we can still celebrate</TD><TD id=msgunetc noWrap align=right>
Subscribe </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE class=msgtable cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="96%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=msg vAlign=top><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgbfr1 width="1%"> </TD><TD><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgF noWrap align=right width="1%">From: </TD><TD class=msgFname noWrap width="68%">BadNews0 <NOBR></NOBR> </TD><TD class=msgDate noWrap align=right width="30%">5:19 am </TD></TR><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgT noWrap align=right width="1%" height=20>To: </TD><TD class=msgTname noWrap width="68%">ALL <NOBR></NOBR></TD><TD class=msgNum noWrap align=right> (1 of 1) </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgleft width="1%" rowSpan=4> </TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>6801.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt>No furniture, but we can still celebrate
Their dad is bankrupt and in jail, so school helps out with donations, financial aid
By Teh Jen Lee
October 02, 2008 Print Ready Email Article
THE two brothers were among the top 10 students last year at their levels.
Click to see larger image
But when their father, after two years of staying off heroin, became addicted again in March, their grades started to slip.
From As and Bs, Salim and Daud (not their real names) got Us for ungraded, the borderline between passing and failing, for almost all their subjects.
The family has asked not to be identified.
The brothers became concerned about money matters as their father lost his job and started selling their home furniture to feed his drug habit.
They began working in the evenings and missing school. They carried on like this until their school, teachers and others offered help.
Salim, 16, the eldest of five children, said: 'It affected my studies quite a bit because I was worried about our finances, like whether there was enough money for me to take the MRT to school.'
He was one of the top five students in his cohort last year and was given an Edusave grant.
Daud, 15, started working at KFC five days a week to supplement the family income. He would get home from work only after midnight.
Click to see larger image
DONATIONS: Madam Zaitun and her family with some of the items they received as a result of the appeal sent out by the school's head of pupil welfare. --TNP PICTURES: KENNETH KOH
As he found it hard to wake up the next morning, he began skipping school. At one point, he missed classes for up to two weeks.
Salim also took on a job with KFC, though he worked only up to three days a week.
The brothers would feel sleepy during lessons as they were so tired from their jobs.
When they were not working in the evenings, they had to take care of their 16-month-old sister, Nurul, because their mother, Madam Zaitun, sometimes works the night shift at a factory.
Madam Zaitun gets $40 per shift, but the income is not fixed as she is not a full-time employee. The factory calls her in only when there is a large order to finish.
She lost her stable job as a supermarket cashier because she had to take care of Nurul. The baby, who has recurrent gastric and eczema problems, was hospitalised for gastric flu and dehydration in July.
Within a week of Nurul's hospitalisation, Madam Zaitun had to deal with the arrest of her husband. He was later sentenced to more than 10years' jail for drug-taking.
His arrest, which happened at home, was what prompted Madam Zaitun to approach the school. She wanted help to counsel her children after they saw their father being taken away in handcuffs by the police.
When Salim and Daud's teachers learnt about their family's plight, they made them quit their KFC jobs.
The school also offered financial assistance for the children's studies as well as pocket money for their food and transport.
In addition, the school contacted Pertapis, the local mosque and the Northwest Community Development Council, which have helped with donations such as food.
Some of the teachers, who requested anonymity, even helped the family by buying groceries out of their own pockets.
When Mr Siva Ganesh, the head of department for pupil welfare, realised the extent of the family's financial difficulties, he sent out an e-mail appeal for further assistance.
'I was worried that the family would be caught in a vicious circle of hardship. The boys are model students who have tried very hard to concentrate on their studies but are continuously affected by their dire circumstances,' he said.
Instant response
Within a day of sending out the appeal, he gathered cash donations of more than $2,000 and various donations in kind.
The family will be getting three mattresses, which will be of great help because they had only one proper mattress, which was shared by Madam Zaitun and her four older children, who took turns to sleep on the floor.
Mr Siva asked us not to name the school because the teachers want to maintain a low profile.
The New Paper found out about the family's plight through the e-mail appeal.
When we visited Madam Zaitun in her four-room flat in Woodlands, it was conspicuously bare of furniture.
There was no sofa in the living room, only a table and television shelf, which had a DVD player and videotape recorder.
All the electrical appliances, including the fridge and washing machine, will soon be removed because her husband has been declared a bankrupt.
He owes $13,000 for furniture and household appliances that he had bought on credit.
Showing us the writ of seizure document, Madam Zaitun said with a sigh: 'When my husband was working as a technician, the income was good.
'We bought all this furniture because he wanted to have a fresh start. But when he got hooked back on drugs, it destroyed everything.'
For now, the family can at least enjoy Hari Raya, thanks to the school's efforts.
Madam Zaitun said: 'We were not planning to celebrate, but because of the good Samaritans who have come forward, we can.
'I'm really grateful to them, whoever they are. Just for one day, we can forget about the negative things that have happened.'
Daud, who was one of the top 10 students in his cohort last year and was promoted to the Express stream, added: 'I will work hard to catch up on lessons that I missed.
'If possible, I hope to be one of the top students again.'
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Their dad is bankrupt and in jail, so school helps out with donations, financial aid
By Teh Jen Lee
October 02, 2008 Print Ready Email Article
THE two brothers were among the top 10 students last year at their levels.
Click to see larger image
But when their father, after two years of staying off heroin, became addicted again in March, their grades started to slip.
From As and Bs, Salim and Daud (not their real names) got Us for ungraded, the borderline between passing and failing, for almost all their subjects.
The family has asked not to be identified.
The brothers became concerned about money matters as their father lost his job and started selling their home furniture to feed his drug habit.
They began working in the evenings and missing school. They carried on like this until their school, teachers and others offered help.
Salim, 16, the eldest of five children, said: 'It affected my studies quite a bit because I was worried about our finances, like whether there was enough money for me to take the MRT to school.'
He was one of the top five students in his cohort last year and was given an Edusave grant.
Daud, 15, started working at KFC five days a week to supplement the family income. He would get home from work only after midnight.
Click to see larger image
DONATIONS: Madam Zaitun and her family with some of the items they received as a result of the appeal sent out by the school's head of pupil welfare. --TNP PICTURES: KENNETH KOH
As he found it hard to wake up the next morning, he began skipping school. At one point, he missed classes for up to two weeks.
Salim also took on a job with KFC, though he worked only up to three days a week.
The brothers would feel sleepy during lessons as they were so tired from their jobs.
When they were not working in the evenings, they had to take care of their 16-month-old sister, Nurul, because their mother, Madam Zaitun, sometimes works the night shift at a factory.
Madam Zaitun gets $40 per shift, but the income is not fixed as she is not a full-time employee. The factory calls her in only when there is a large order to finish.
She lost her stable job as a supermarket cashier because she had to take care of Nurul. The baby, who has recurrent gastric and eczema problems, was hospitalised for gastric flu and dehydration in July.
Within a week of Nurul's hospitalisation, Madam Zaitun had to deal with the arrest of her husband. He was later sentenced to more than 10years' jail for drug-taking.
His arrest, which happened at home, was what prompted Madam Zaitun to approach the school. She wanted help to counsel her children after they saw their father being taken away in handcuffs by the police.
When Salim and Daud's teachers learnt about their family's plight, they made them quit their KFC jobs.
The school also offered financial assistance for the children's studies as well as pocket money for their food and transport.
In addition, the school contacted Pertapis, the local mosque and the Northwest Community Development Council, which have helped with donations such as food.
Some of the teachers, who requested anonymity, even helped the family by buying groceries out of their own pockets.
When Mr Siva Ganesh, the head of department for pupil welfare, realised the extent of the family's financial difficulties, he sent out an e-mail appeal for further assistance.
'I was worried that the family would be caught in a vicious circle of hardship. The boys are model students who have tried very hard to concentrate on their studies but are continuously affected by their dire circumstances,' he said.
Instant response
Within a day of sending out the appeal, he gathered cash donations of more than $2,000 and various donations in kind.
The family will be getting three mattresses, which will be of great help because they had only one proper mattress, which was shared by Madam Zaitun and her four older children, who took turns to sleep on the floor.
Mr Siva asked us not to name the school because the teachers want to maintain a low profile.
The New Paper found out about the family's plight through the e-mail appeal.
When we visited Madam Zaitun in her four-room flat in Woodlands, it was conspicuously bare of furniture.
There was no sofa in the living room, only a table and television shelf, which had a DVD player and videotape recorder.
All the electrical appliances, including the fridge and washing machine, will soon be removed because her husband has been declared a bankrupt.
He owes $13,000 for furniture and household appliances that he had bought on credit.
Showing us the writ of seizure document, Madam Zaitun said with a sigh: 'When my husband was working as a technician, the income was good.
'We bought all this furniture because he wanted to have a fresh start. But when he got hooked back on drugs, it destroyed everything.'
For now, the family can at least enjoy Hari Raya, thanks to the school's efforts.
Madam Zaitun said: 'We were not planning to celebrate, but because of the good Samaritans who have come forward, we can.
'I'm really grateful to them, whoever they are. Just for one day, we can forget about the negative things that have happened.'
Daud, who was one of the top 10 students in his cohort last year and was promoted to the Express stream, added: 'I will work hard to catch up on lessons that I missed.
'If possible, I hope to be one of the top students again.'
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