Their days come alive for Rumah Solehah residents
KUALA LUMPUR: When Amirah discovered that she had HIV, she gave up on life and waited for death to come.
“That was 12 years ago. The doctor told me that I got it from my husband, and it was possible that he has had it for a long time, even before we got married.
“But he never told me. And a pre-marital HIV test was not available back then,” said the 40-year-old. (Amirah’s name has been changed to protect her privacy.)
Her husband was a diehard addict who spent much of his time frequenting the back streets of Chow Kit to feed his drug habit, said Amirah.
“I was devastated because I’m a woman and I have kids. I didn’t feel like I wanted to go on living, I only thought about dying.
“But as a wife, I took care of him until the end of his days. My husband died in my arms,” said Amirah, whose five children are unaffected.
Amirah, a hotel receptionist and a part-time salesgirl, sought moral support from non-governmental organisations such as Rumah Solehah, a halfway home for women and children living with HIV/AIDS.
Set up in 1998, it is operating under the patronage of the Islamic Medical Association of Malaysia.
It also has a children’s home, set up in 2002, to care for orphaned children with HIV.
Fadzilah Abdul Hamid, 68, who helped to set up Rumah Solehah, is now its caregiver and matron.
With more than three decades of nursing experience, she is the home’s strict, yet caring, mother figure.
She helps these women manage the virus and modify their behaviour, but also reminds them of life’s beauty.
“My intention is to share with them the beauty of faith.
“This is the place where you encourage them to live meaningful lives and not brood over what they have done before.
“A new life begins here and we want them to be happy. How can they be happy on the streets? They were sleeping on boxes.
“Here, at Rumah Solehah, we say that life is still beautiful,” said Fadzilah, who is a mother of seven.
Amirah is one of eight women involved in a programme at Rumah Solehah, an outreach initiative offering a support structure for non-resident women and families with HIV.
She took part in study circles, Quran recitals and religious classes.
“Thank God, my life is better now and my CD4 (a type of cell in the immune system) count is better,” said Amirah.
Rumah Solehah currently shelters two in-house residents and eight girls at its children’s home.
“When the ambulance brings these women to the house, most of them would be on a stretcher or wheelchair.
“We’ve had women coming here with just a makeup bag and not even a spare dress,” said Fadzilah.
She would nurse and counsel these bedridden women. Once they are healthy enough to get out of bed, they would have a daily schedule of cooking and cleaning.
“If they can still see properly, we will teach them to sew and to take care of the vegetation outside,” she said, adding that the maximum time that they could spend there was two years.
Over at the children’s home, coordinator Fathiiah Hamzah said the eight girls, aged between 10 and 18, were also kept busy with activities such as school, tuition classes, Quran lessons and counselling sessions.
“What I highlight to them is that they are also living a normal life like other kids out there,” she said.
Fadzilah said funds to run the house were shrinking, adding that it was in dire need to go on with its day-to-day operations.
For details on the home, visit www.ppimrumahsolehah.com.