Fatimah (third right) hands over the household items to Patimah (left) and her family.
KUCHING (Feb 26): Children born into economically disadvantaged families need to be given the right assistance to break free from the shackles of poverty, said Women, Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development Minister Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah.
She said as a former teacher, she believed education is crucial for poor families – especially those struggling to make ends meet.
“To escape poverty, education is key but unfortunately, it is hindered by various challenges. What lies ahead for these children?
“We don’t want poverty to be perpetuated; Sarawak’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) aim to eradicate poverty and we don’t want it to be inherited,” she said during a follow-up visit to the family of Nor Aliff Syukri Roslee, a seven-year-old resident of a KMC flat who had been recently found wandering about by authorities, and his parents Roslee Zainuddin Kaladi, 42, and Patimah Usop, 40.
During the visit, she requested Nor Aliff and his siblings undergo a diagnosis by paediatric specialists at the Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) and One-Stop Early Intervention Centre (Oseic).
She believed the eldest child, 13-year-old Nokairul Roslee, has the potential to be assisted in education alongside Nor Aliff.
“Educational assistance is available, and we will need to request it from Yayasan Sarawak, as we have already contacted the former director regarding this matter. The necessary information has been provided and hopefully, following the usual procedure, they will assess the situation themselves,” she said.
During the visit, Fatimah handed over disposable diapers, pillows, mattresses, mats and other items to the family.