KUCHING: Many Muslims are now busy shopping for new Hari Raya clothes in preparation for the celebration.
But not Puini Jaiman and his wife Hayati Yusuf, who are struggling to keep a roof over their heads and food to feed 11 mouths. (See earlier report on May 5 http://bit.do/eStkz )
“Living on a shoestring budget like us, we cannot afford to spend on new clothes and many other things for Raya,” Hayati told New Sarawak Tribune when met at their house in Kampung Gita Lama here on Tuesday.
She added that it did not matter whether she had new clothes, but she could not stand seeing her children wearing shabby clothes.
“As long as my children are able to wear different clothes during Raya, that is more than enough,” she said, adding that they would buy new Raya clothes if they had enough cash and buy cheaper clothes.
“We would go to town two to three days before Hari Raya as the items would be sold at lower prices.
“But this depends on the amount of cash that we have,” explained Hayati.
She revealed that many members of the public had brought cheer to her family by giving them clothes and foodstuffs.
Touched by the people’s kindness, Hayati said that it would be a blessed Ramadan as the family had been showered with greater assistance.
“We definitely feel grateful to Allah for every rezeki (blessing) and fortunate to live in a community who are willing to donate their clothes to us,” she added.
The mother of 11 also emphasised that it did not matter if the sizes did not fit them well.
“It is not an issue to us if the donated clothes do not fit us well. Instead, we will continuously wear them. What is more important is to receive the blessings from Allah,” she expressed.
Hayati also revealed that she hardly prepared Raya dishes such as curry and rendang, as well as cookies and cakes due to her vision.
“I was very good in baking before I lost my vision,” she said.
Hayati revealed that she was just 17 years old when she was diagnosed with diabetes which caused her to suffer from visual distortion.
“At 17, my vision slowly became blurry due to the appearance of a membrane.
“The doctor said that I was diagnosed with diabetes and the membrane had appeared due to my high sugar level.”
