KUCHING: Hope Place Kuching is assisting a Semariang Batu family facing financial hardship while caring for a four-month-old boy with health complications.
The infant, Muhammad Nur Aniq, lives with his mother, Nurain, 20, grandmother Melor Bengkok, 47, and aunt Nur Amira, 19, in an ageing wooden house near a river.
Hope Place said Aniq was diagnosed with a bacterial infection affecting his brain after birth and is undergoing antibiotic treatment.
Melor said doctors had recommended an additional medical procedure, but the family declined it because of concerns over the risks.
“I was scared because he was still so small, and there was no guarantee that he would survive the procedure,” she told Hope Place during a recent visit by the non-governmental organisation.
Melor previously earned a daily wage at a coffee shop but stopped working in April to care for Aniq and Nurain.
According to Hope Place, Nurain, a college dropout and single mother, has experienced postnatal depression since giving birth and relies on Melor for support in caring for her baby.
Nur Amira is currently the family’s sole breadwinner, working part-time at a clothing shop while awaiting the outcome of an application for a cleaner’s position.
She told Hope Place that she had hoped to learn sewing after leaving school but was unable to pursue the training because of the family’s financial constraints.
Hope Place said the family’s house has deteriorating wooden floorboards and inadequate ventilation, raising safety and health concerns.
Frequent hospital visits have further strained the family’s finances due to transport and medical-related expenses.
The organisation thanked a social worker from the Petra Jaya Health Clinic for referring the case and said it is providing the family with basic food supplies and infant formula.
Those wishing to assist may contact Hope Place, also known as Persatuan Kebajikan Harapan Kuching, at 082-505987 or 013-5672775.
