BINTULU: Extrameal Bintulu recently helped a single mother and her five children whose lives were affected badly by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Its founder, Francis Ngu Hown Hua, in a statement on Sunday (May 9), said that Nancy Semali, 33, and her five children ranging from the age of 6 to 17 live in Sungai Plan Bintulu.
He said Nancy was fired from her job at a restaurant due to the pandemic and this contributed to the hardships faced by the family.
“Their hardships began after Nancy lost her job two months ago. This caused the mother of five and her children to live a life of deprivation as well as to experience frequent hunger. She used to earn RM900 a month to support her children who are still in school.
“Since then, the family’s situation has become more difficult. During the movement control order (MCO), there were times when their food supply was cut off for several days,” he explained.
Ngu added that the family’s neighbours often donated food items but they were still insufficient.
He pointed out that Extrameal Bintulu was informed of the family’s plight by one of Nancy’s neighbours who wanted them to receive appropriate assistance.
“We found that the story of Nancy and her family was true. We were very saddened by their condition so we donated food and pocket money to them,” he said.
Ngu added that he had advised Nancy to reach out to the Social Welfare Department office for help.
“I was made to understand that the neighbours often helped the family to survive but they were unable to provide continuous food assistance. The family is very lucky because the neighbours were concerned enough to have contacted us and asked for help,” he added.
Ngu said Extrameal Bintulu had shared Nancy’s story on its Facebook page.
“After the story of the family was circulated on social networking sites, many have come forward to help the family. They include members of the public, schools as well as the Social Welfare Department which visited them.
“We also managed to send a donation to finance the house rent for two months (RM700) and the surplus money collected to Nancy. We hope it will ease the burden of the family who will return to their original village in Long Belok, Baram after this,” he said.
Ngu also thanked the people who have come forward to help Nancy and her family.
He added that members of the public who wish to help Nancy and her family can contact her at 013-4274531.
