喘气的空间 A breathing space

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喘气的空间
​文/7979同工

有谁会想到，一位丧偶的外籍新娘在生活陷困之时，还可以获得法律下的经济保障……

41岁的妮塔（化名）是一位单亲妈妈，丈夫在数年前因意外过世，育有两名14岁和9岁的子女。丈夫逝世这几年，留下的保险金所剩无几，无法继续支撑他们的生活。带着两名孩子的外籍新娘，实在无法在本地建立经济基础，只能兼职煮食工作来赚取微薄收入。在妮塔快要支撑不下去之际，恩主中心7979全人关怀站透过一位姐妹的转介，得知了妮塔的处境。

深入了解之下，教会发现妮塔丈夫逝世的情况符合申请社会保险（SOCSO）的条件。幸而恩主中心志工参与了2019年7979全国志管人大会的社险工作坊，不只了解社险带来的好处，更是学以致用，及时帮助了这落难的家庭成功申请社险，并获得每月约RM1000的社险赔偿。在申请到社险之时，恩主中心并没有就此撇下这家庭，而是借着7979吗哪食物银行给于物资的援助，双管齐下让这家庭在经济上可以得到喘气的空间。透过一年的吗哪包援助，教会藉着探访和鼓励，这家庭的经济基础也渐渐走上轨道。吗哪包陪同他们走过艰难的一年，如今妮塔一家不再需要吗哪食物银行的援助，也可以充足的过每一天。

A breathing space
​TRANSLATED BY DAWN LIM

Who would have thought that a foreign widow would be entitled to her financial right and protected by law when she was in financial difficulty?

Nita (pseudonym), a 41 years old single mother whose husband passed away in an accident a few years ago, has to raised two children aged 14 and 9 all by herself. During those years following her husband's death, there was not much insurance payout left which she could depend on. As a foreigner with two kids, she was struggling to provide for her family and could only earn a modest income by selling home-cooked food. As Nita’s financial situation got worse, coincidentally the volunteers from Adonai Centre reached out to her after learning about her predicament from a sister in Christ.

As the volunteers gained a complete understanding of her situation, they learned that Nita was eligible to apply for compensation from the Social Security Organisation (SOCSO) for her husband's death. The volunteers were participants of the social security protection workshop organised during the 7979 National Conference of Volunteers in 2019, thus they were well versed in matters pertaining to social security protection. They finally had the opportunity to apply what they have learned, and Nita’s application for compensation from SOCSO was successful! Now Nita receives about RM1000 from SOCSO every month. Despite the monthly payout from SOCSO, the church continued to provide food aid to this family through the 7979 Manna Food Bank for one whole year. This two-pronged effort eased the financial burden of the family and gave Nita a little breathing space in her struggle to overcome financial difficulty. During that one year, other than the Manna Food Bag, the volunteers also gave a lot of encouragement to the family. The family's financial status has now become stable and they are able to meet their daily needs without the Manna Food Bag.

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