The southern branch of Kelab Kebajikan Amal has been active since 2012 and was officially registered in 2014. The core team has 7 representatives from each region of Johor and they have over 100 volunteers per programme.
Kelab Kebajikan Amal (Amal) claims to be the “eyes and ears” of the government. People and families in need are referred to Amal, and the team reviews if these requests have received assistance from the government before. If yes, they find out why these people still face difficulties. If not, Amal helps them fill up the right forms. The latter happens more with older people who are illiterate or have filled up the wrong forms.
Romzi Abd Aziz, founder of the southern branch club, said he prefers to visit the applicants unannounced when they are unprepared to view the real conditions of those seeking assistance. If the individual or family has received assistance, Amal studies why they still live in a state of poverty. If they do not have a job, Amal helps them source for one. However, Romzi said that the reason for lack of growth is usually due to money management. This is why Amal also educates families on handling monies wisely. In cases where adult children neglect aging parents – Amal team members intervene, forcibly if needed, and ensure children take responsibility to provide for their parents. Amal then monitors the families for a few months to be sure the parents are indeed taken care of.
One of the first cases handled was a case of an elderly couple with three disabled children. Two of the children, in their 30s, are completely disabled while the third child, in his 20s, has a mono-learning disability. A mono-learning disability is the inability to comprehend more than one set of instructions. For example, when asked to wash the dishes, he would be overwhelmed and confused over the number of different cutleries to be washed. The instruction should be specific, for example to “wash plates” and then later “wash spoons”. Due to a lack of understanding about this condition, this son was consistently chided and shamed, causing embarrassment to the boy. Team Amal understood this, took him out of his current workplace and sent him to work for an understanding contractor, where his job was to paint pipes only. Romzi has received feedback that he does it meticulously well. They still monitor this family.
Romzi shared that the number one challenge Amal faces is changing the mindset of people living in poverty. Sometimes, wives are enthusiastic about change and find ways to improve their living conditions, but their husbands discourage them or do not share the same views. Laziness is a factor as well. When school-going children are involved, Team Amal gives these kids and their families moral support and encouragement to be strong in whatever hardship they might be facing. Parents need to support their children to be better.
Human empowerment requires a collective effort of individuals coming together and supporting each other. It begins at home, too.
