The issue of the homeless and banning of soup kitchens had caught nationwide public attention recently. Fortunately some good news came out of it eventually when the government announced of plan to create facilities for these homeless and you could also say it made more Malaysians aware of societal problem in which there is poverty in the urban area also. As the saying goes, ‘Every cloud has a silver lining’.
This article is to share with you, or perhaps illustrate the experience of a Medical Student and a House Officer who had volunteered at the Pertiwi’s Soup Kitchen, being part of the medical team. It was truly a wonderful experience for us.
In a way, this issue had caught our attention. We live in the heart of Kuala Lumpur. We have seen the homeless roam the streets of Kuala Lumpur. We however have to admit besides feeling sympathetic towards them; we never actually actively participated in helping them. Our Young Columnist Program (MIMPA) Advisor, Dr. Khoo Yoong Khean had volunteered a week before we did. He shared his experience with us and encouraged us to also volunteer.
We arrived at the first stop at about 9.15 pm. We could see there are so many people queueing up for food and also at the mobile clinic registration counter.The mobile was fairly well equipped. They had basic medications for minor ailments such as Paracetemol, Oral Rehydration Salt and antacids. Simple wound dressing equipment was also available. The patients would have to present any form of Identification i.e identification card, UNHCR letter, passport or birth certificate before being examined by the doctor. This was when we learned some of them were even refugees.
“As Dr Yoong, Dr Anis and Dr June started seeing patients, I helped dispense the medications based on their orders. For me this was an excellent opportunity to practice what I have learnt so far in my third year of medical school. It also gave me some sort of idea what would be the common illness and their medications. I was also taught by Dr Anis and Dr Yoong on how to recognize dermatological problems such as heat rash, fungal skin infection and even diabetic ulcers. On a different note, I realized that these homeless people are no different from me and you. Nobody chooses to be homeless, unfortunate events forced them to be on the streets and roofless.” – Ayeshah
Quoting Empowerment Empower president Janarthani Arumugam, who explained in the Star Online Article published on Suday 13th July 2014, the homeless move around a lot and may sometimes misplace and lose their IC, without an IC and a permanent address, they are disenfranchised where they cannot receive government and welfare aids. They are even exploited for cheap labour.
We also noticed that some of the homeless are children. Some of them are even babies. The mothers would carry their babies in a ‘kain batik’ wrapped around their shoulders as the mothers move about from one location to another. Some even do so while working at the same time. There were parents who requested Dr Anis and Dr Yoong to examine their children as they are worried that their children are not getting enough nutrition. Parents’ concerns of their children are just the same, homeless or not.
Dr Anis and Dr June agreed that this kind of experience is almost similar to seeing patients in Klinik Kesihatan (KK) but this sort of exposure is not available in the current working practice. They even encourage other medical students and housemen to come and join such programs. However busy you are with your everyday schedule; studying and working for that matter, one should always find time to give back to the society. And this society especially, needs you the most.
Dr. Anis Nabillah is a house officer working in a tertiary hospital while Ayesyah Abdullah is a fourth year medical student. Learn more about the Young Columnists Program students under the Team tab.