Well, I have. In fact, I've met so many heroes last Sunday.
Unlike most heroes that you know of, these heroes can't fly, shoot lazers from their eyes or even wear flashy underwears on the outside. They are ordinary people just like you and me. Best of all, I actually got to see them in action; helping the poor.
Last Sunday, the Sg. Long BEC group representing Holy Family Church, Kajang visited 4 poor families who are in need of help and support. Heavly loaded with boxes upon boxes of food, neccesities and bundle of money, we set off to our 1st location in Sg. Chua.
Our first family was a chinese family, where both mother and son are suffering from cancer. The family consisted of a mother and father and a girl and boy. In order to contribute in supporting the family, the mother currently works in a canteen at a local primary school nearby from 6a.m til 5p.m. The father works in Klang, but I didn't get enough of information about him.
Unfortunately for them, the family had recently been robbed. So, it was a pretty difficult time for them.
As for the son who is 16 this year, he has throat cancer and because of this, he had to skip school for one and a half years starting from the middle of the year since form 1. He started school again in form 3, which was PMR year for him. Despite having cancer and being left behind in his studies, he scored 6A's in his exams, which is truly an inspiration for me as I am taking my exam this year.
His 18-year-old sister is not left out either. She scored 11A's for her SPM, which is very impressing. Unfortunately, as good as her results are, she still did not get a scholarship even though she really deserves it. So, she is now studying for Form 6.
We finally said our goodbyes to them and left for our next family who lives nearby as well.
Our next family was an indian family consisting of a middle aged woman with a son and daughter.
The father left the family a long time ago, leaving the mother to single-handedly raise the family. Now, this isn't a very easy task, especially when her son is brain damaged because of a high fever during his childhood times. The poor lady had to juggle her tasks by taking care of the house and kids as well as sending her children to school and taking her son to the hospital constantly. Furthermore, because of low incomes, the mother cannot afford her son's medicine as they are very expensive.
As a young boy, her son couldn't speak properly, had problems in studying and never had any friends. He also dislikes to eat, is quite hyper and mischevious. Now, a grown man of 18, he is quite well behaved when I saw him and his mother says that he can listen and understand and is perfectly normal.
Their house, however, is quite small and rundown and is desperately in need of repairs and maintainence. Their furnitures are old and unstable, some of them broken in fact.
As we continued to visit our third family, we headed off to Semenyih.
Yet another chinese family, where a grandmother had to take care of her 4 grandchildren. At a very young age, these children were abandoned by their own parents to their grandmother, leaving her to support them.
As you can see, this is where the children sleeps. Previously, from what I've heard, it was much more cramped before; there was no bed, so they all had to sleep on the floor.
Still, the house is quite small and cramped. The children's age ranges from 9-13 years old. The eldest boy in the family wasn't home that time as he has a part time job working in the market to earn a few ringgit extra to help support the family.
Not too long ago, their home was in a much worst condition than it is now; the place smelt of urine, it was dirty and the walls were cracked. But thanks to another group who visited them earlier, their house was painted, new furnitures were brought to them and a few repairs were made to the house as well.
We wished the family luck and said goodbye to them as we made our way to our last family who lives in a poor neighbourhood not too far away.
On the way to the house, I spotted a handicapped man with only 1 leg and soon discovered that he is the father of the house.
The children's age ranges from 5 to 14 years old. Don't be fooled by their looks though, there are only 2 boys and 4 girls. The eldest girl in the family is good at running and won a few medals in her school.I soon learned that the father was involved in a lorry accident a few years back so he had to have his left leg removed, while his wife supports the family by working in a sofa factory nearby.
The house is very small and cramped. It is also quite smelly outside due to the poor drainage systems, the place is quite dirty and there were old and broken furnitures.
The father and sons had to sleep on the floor in the hall, and its barely even big enough for 2 people to sleep there. The children were delighted at the toys we've provided for them as they didn't have much to play with. Looking at the excited faces of these children made me realise how lucky I am to live such a comfortable life compared to them.
In the end, who is the real hero? The cancer stricken boy who scored good results? The mother who sacrificed so much for her children? An old lady who single handedly raised her 4 grandchildren? The family who are thankful for what they have, or the people who visited the poor families and did their best to make each family's life a little bit easier to bear?
To me they're all heroes. May God bless them all, for without them, I would have never realised all the good things the Lord has blessed me with.
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