Help for teens at halfway house

OrphanCare outreach officer Che Rozi Azrul Che Aziz, 31, knows how it feels like to be 18, jobless, homeless and without a sen in his pocket, when he “aged out” at his orphanage.

“I was in shock. It was the fasting month, I had just finished my final paper in accounts and had walked 5km from my school to the orphanage. I found a suitcase packed with my things out by the front door. “When I asked the home supervisor for an explanation, he said I had to leave immediately.

“He had even bought me a bus ticket to Kelantan at 8pm,” said Azrul, who was 10 when he entered an orphanage following the death of his grandmother.

The supervisor of the orphanage took a dislike to Azrul after he expressed his unhappiness over the latter’s choice to handcuff his friend to a flagpole at the orphanage.

His experience prompted him to found JKeb, a halfway house in Keramat for both able-bodied and disabled orphans who are forced to leave their orphanages when they turn 18. Che Rozi Azrul Che Aziz

“I felt that there should be an organisation to help teens who left orphanages adjust to life outside of the orphanage and to socialise and function independently.

“JKeb was set up in 2010, but it was only in 2011 that we had a transit home in collaboration with the Welfare Department.”

“Now, there are eight people in our home. Three are studying at universities with funding from Baitumal, while we are trying to get work experience for the others.

“They told me they want to continue with higher education when they reach 19. This is a place where they can bond and share their thoughts and challenges with other residents,” Azrul says.

The residents look after their little home, learn to be responsible and function like a family. They do the cooking and cleaning themselves, with everyone assigned a set of chores they have to complete daily.

“Except for one of our residents, who is blind, I have taught the rest to cook a few staples, including fried chicken, soup , assam pedas, masak lemak, kurma and spaghetti.

“To raise funds for the home, we make and sell sandwiches, moist chocolate cake and kuih batik under the label ‘Aulia Homemade’. Every week, I make about 1kg to 2kg of these cakes for sale.

“We evaluate the progress of our residents over a few months and when they have demonstrated they can hold down permanent jobs, pay their rent consistently every month and stand on their own two feet, we help them find a place to stay near their workplace.

“We check to see that the area is free of vice activities to ensure that the orphans do not succumb to such practices when left on their own.”