Helping hand for those in need
SITI NOOR ABDULLAH was married at 16 and has five children by the time she was 25. Just before her 25th birthday, her 18-monthold youngest child died of liver failure and her much older husband walked out on the family. Left in a lurch, she held three jobs to fend for herself and her children.
“I used to work in a school canteen in the morning, a food stall in the afternoon and a 24-hour clinic at night,” recalled Siti Noor, 39.
Her life changed for the better, when one day in 2006 she spotted an advertisement placed by the Yayasan Raja Muda Selangor (YRMS) offering skills training for the needy.
The YRMS offers skills training programmes, self-discovery workshops for young adults as well as the Talent For The World initiative, which selects talented young people and puts them through the mentorship and guidance of industry experts.
The YRMS was established in 2000 by Selangor Ruler Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah when he was still the Crown Prince.
It was also the first time YRMS was offering the programme. The cut-off age for participants was 29 and at that time, Siti Noor was six months short of 29.
“I knew if I missed this opportunity, I would not be able to qualify for the next one due to the age factor,” said Siti Noor when met at the YRMS office.
Giving up two of her jobs, Siti Noor, who is from Batu Pahat, Johor, rushed to take up the offer and was the first student to sign up for the YRMS programme.
She completed two levels of the beautician’s course under the YRMS skills training programme and went on to sit for the subsequent levels on her own.
Today, she is a certified trainer and examiner and owns her own mobile spa business. After completing her courses, YRMS provided her an interest-free loan to help her start a business.
“We only conduct training programmes and never give out loans. Siti Noor is the only one who has received a loan from us and she is diligently paying off the money we had spent to buy her spa equipments,” said YRMS executive director Aminah Abdul Rahim.
According to Aminah, Siti Noor was told to put up a proposal for the YRMS trustees to convince them to give her financial aid.
“We helped her draw up the proposal which she presented herself and the trustees were very impressed and approved her loan,” said Aminah.
All that is history, and Siti Noor said if she had not noticed the advertisement on that day, her life might still have been a struggle.
“I’m thankful for this second chance in life. Really and truly thankful.”
Her eldest child is now a graduate, the second is an undergraduate and the younger two are still in school.