After years of hardship, grandma gets new lease on life

SEGAMAT: It was a joyful moment for grandmother S. Walliamah after her old, rundown house was demolished and then rebuilt from the scratch – all for free.

She was the first recipient of such an initiative mooted by Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) under its Projek Rumah Mesra Rakyat here.

The 63-year-old widow, who has been caring for her three grandchildren since their parents died about eight years ago, said she could not wait to move into the new house in Kampung Jementah Baru here and start life afresh.

“Currently, we are staying in a rented house in Taman Puteri while awaiting for the new house to be completed.

“I am very thankful that we will be moving into a new home.

“Our life was very tough, especially after three of my toes had to be amputated due to diabetic complications,” Walliamah said when met here.

She said her poor health condition had forced her to stay at home instead of working.

She also had to depend on her late husband’s pension fund of RM300, as well as the children’s monthly welfare funds of RM600.

“We faced a lot of difficulties since my daughter died from an illness, while her husband passed away from depression in the same year.

“But hard times have strengthened our family’s bond and we cannot wait to start a new chapter of our lives,” she added.

Walliamah said although she as faced with a tight budget, she still wanted the best for her grandchildren.

“I send them for tuition classes costing RM50 a month each as I want them to be successful in their studies,” she said.

She also thanked TNB for building her a new house as she could not have afforded to do so on her own.

“I hope TNB will continue to help the needy and the poor,” she said.

The project was part of TNB’s state-level initiative, in which the concept is to rebuild the houses of deserving recipients based on their living conditions and family background.

Walliamah had been staying there for 30 years before her predicament was brought to the attention of TNB, which then offered to build her a new home.

We faced a lot of difficulties ... but hard times have strengthened our family’s bond and we cannot wait to start a new chapter of our lives. S. Walliamah

Home sweet home: Walliamah and her grandchildren (from left) S. Danush, S. Tarshan and S. Vidya can now look forward to a more comfortable life at their new house in Kampung Baru Jementah, Segamat. Prior to that, Walliamah lived in a rundown house in...