The lowest point in Madam Zainon Arshad’s life came just over five years ago when doctors told her they had to amputate her right leg because of diabetes. A year earlier, she had her left leg amputated for the same reason. Alongside the need for dialysis three times a week, it was tough for her to care for her children, one of whom has cerebral palsy. Hence she had to leave her job as a school clerk.
But rather than rely solely on her husband’s income, Madam Zainon, who was upbeat and chatty as she wheeled herself around the family’s four-room flat in Woodlands, said she wanted to do something to contribute to the family.
“I refused to sit still,” she said.
So she started a home bakery business, and occasionally, renting stalls at bazaars. She had attended courses at the Muslim Kidney Action Association following her first amputation in 2011, where she learnt how to make baked goods. Then in 2016, she joined the PA-Kesuma Entrepreneurship Programme, a collaboration between the People’s Association and Association of Malay Entrepreneurs.
The programme taught Madam Zainon skills such as online marketing. She currently showcases her products on her Facebook page called Zave’s Kitchen, where she also takes orders.
Madam Zainon said the family is getting by.
Her second son, Huzairul Izwan, 18, was born one month premature and has cerebral palsy, an incurable disorder which impairs muscle control. Huzairul will be graduating from CPAS and Madam Zainon and Mr Hussman are looking to enrol him in a work programme in another school, preferably closer to their home.
They also hired a maid to take care of him. “Our finances are very tight. We have to pay our children’s school fees, household expenses and also the maid. I need to have a maid at home, because I can’t bathe my son as I don’t have both legs.”
And while she sometimes wonders why so much has happened to her, she said she has faith that there is a reason for everything: “I have to handle it whether good or bad. I love my family so much.”
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Source: The Straits Times, 22 January 2018