KUCHING: Not all heroes wear capes, and single father, Tan Sing Kwang, 44, is one of them.
The father of seven children aged between 10 months and 18, once had a stable job as a lorry driver and earned enough for his big family.
His life turned upside down when his wife and their 15-year-old son left the family back in January.
Tan, who shared his story with charity organisation Hope Place during a visit today at the KMC flats here, alleged that his wife had a drug problem and their marriage was on the rocks for some time.
He said it was difficult for him to juggle everything at once, between taking care of his seven children, working and managing the household.
This case then caught the attention of Kuching City South Council (MBKS), which had already started helping Tan’s family earlier this year.
“With great concern for the children’s wellbeing and education, MBKS has done house cleaning for them and helped all the schooling children get registered in schools.
“Even Tan’s nine-year-old daughter, who has a learning disability, has started going to school. However, after our visit, Hope Place found out that the children have stopped schooling again,” a representative from Hope Place said.
Tan started working again in the beginning of June and thought things were getting better. However, the situation worsened when his eldest daughter, 18, ran away with a youth last week and once again, the family was in disarray.
Now, the 10-month-old baby is under the care of his two brothers, aged 14 and 12 respectively.
Tan expressed his gratitude to MBKS and the Federation of Chinese Associations for their help.
Hope Place is now assisting the family with basic food aid and baby diapers as well as baby milk formula. MBKS also helped Tan to apply for Social Welfare Department (JKM) assistance.
Hope Place or Persatuan Kebajikan Harapan Kuching (PKHK) can be reached at 082-505987. Opening hours are from 8am-5pm from Mondays to Fridays and 8am-12pm on Saturdays. All donations are welcomed and receipts will be given upon request.
The public can donate directly to Hope Place’s Maybank bank account 511289001160 or go to their Facebook page to get their Sarawak Pay / S PAY GLOBAL QR code.
