Project Mahanum

By now, hopefully all of us would have read the email by Sek Yee's Boss re Project Mahanum! What a feat of compassion to say the least! A Sunday trip as suggested would be great for the kids; so let's hear from you loud and clear!

"When Sek Yee and I visited her in 2006, the complex still smelt of fresh paint. It is built on an "island" right in the middle of a padi field in Chenderong Balai, Teluk Intan, on a piece of land belonging to her mother, next to her family home. It is a dream location for us, wish we had such a piece of land to build on...Her experience as DG of the Housing Ministry came in handy when she had to look into the nitty gritties of putting up a complex of buildings to house and educate a bunch of neglected, abandoned, and very often, abused kids. Did you ever aspire to do such a noble thing yourself? I am sure , like the rest of us, you did. I am sure, like a lot of people out there, you didn't do anything about it for the simple reason that you don't even know where to start. Don't scared! There is still hope for people like us...if we can't do something great ourselves, the least we can do is support people who do. There is always one near us, as they say, and this week you discover Mahanum, our very own classmate, someone you interacted with practically everyday for at least two years of your life, homegrown, locally bred and educated, who rose to the top of the ladder in her career, someone who made our school proud. Surely we can tumpang her courage by lending her a hand in keeping her project going. Yes, she has a lot of support already, given by her friends from other areas of her life, but we, too, as her former classmates, can claim our share with pride...we were part of her life in 66/67, we can still be, 4 decades later.

Sek Yee and I mooted the idea of dragging our friends to Teluk Intan (formerly Teluk Anson) to visit Mahanum one Sunday before Puasa month. The Famous Five who met last Wednesday have given their names to the monitor and it would be lovely if more could join us in making this day-trip an enlightening one. We could car-pool, leave early in the morning, and should be back home by sunset...you know la, night driving...

Our destination would be : Sekolah Tahfiz/Rumah Anak Yatim Al Amin,
Kg Pengkalan Ara
36600 Chenderong Balai
Teluk Intan

Attached are some fotos taken during our trip there in 2006. She was looking after 30 kids at that time, singlehandedly. Now she has 50 kids. Masya Allah...Well, she was taking care of a ministry once, what is an orphanage to Mahanum, you may ask. The reality is that kids can be a handful, but problem kids are another basket of fish altogether. And she needs help..."

Salam to all,
Khadijah