A haven for homeless boys

Skilled: One of the boys cooking lunch.

The Star Online > Central
Tuesday October 14, 2008

A haven for homeless boys

By CHRISTINA LOW

NGO@WORK

GROWING up to be knowledgeable and independent is what Agathians Shelter hopes for its orphans.

It was started in 2003 by a group of young adults who took over an abandoned children’s home after its owners could no longer manage it.

“The home was not taken care of and this prompted the caregivers and donors to find a solution.

“That is how we set up our very own children’s home,” said Agathians Shelter council member M. Sivabalan.

Sivabalan said the home had mostly boys back then and hence the group continued taking in only boys through the years.

He said the boys were mostly picked up from the streets, or from single-parent homes which could no longer provide care to the children. Some of them were victims of abuse.

“It is a pity to see how much these children have to suffer at a very young age and are just left on the streets to fend for themselves,” said Sivabalan.
Helping each other: The boys at the home doing their homework in their bedroom.

The single-storey home in Petaling Jaya may be a dream house for the boys but they have a daily routine to stick to.

The boys begin their day at 6am when they need to wash up before walking to school together with their caretaker.

When school is over a caretaker would be there to walk them back to the home.

“It is the caretaker’s daily duty to ensure the boys do not run about and to make sure all the boys are safe back home,” said Sivabalan.

Watching television is something that the boys do only on weekends as homework and studying remains a top priority at the shelter.

However, one can spot the boys in action at a nearby field playing soccer in the evenings or practising the Bahasa Malaysia or English language with a volunteer.

To date, the home is proud that several of its residents have completed their SPM examinations as well as have obtained jobs or are pursuing vocational courses.

The home currently has about 30 occupants of different races and religions and aged between three to 17 years.

“We don’t practice religion within the home but the boys are encouraged to visit their places of worship during the weekends,” said Sivabalan.

The moderate-sized home has two rooms which the boys share and Sivabalan said each of them has a mattress to sleep on.

Besides being able to help children, the home is also sometimes used to house old folks with no place to call home.

Like most orphanages, Agathians Shelter also has many bills to pay and many fund raising activities are held together with the children yearly.

“We do not have enough funds to hold big and grand dinners in hotels so we make do with food carnivals, raffle draws, family day, car wash programmes and mini musical nites to pay for our hefty RM170,000 annual expenses,” said Sivabalan.

December is nearing and it is the boys’ favourite time of the year as the public take time to visit them as well as take them out on trips.

Agathians Shelter (Pusat Kebajikan Agathians, Malaysia) is at No 17, Jalan Tengas 8/8, Section 8 , 46050, Petaling Jaya, Selangor. For details call 03-7954 1680 or log on to www.agathians.org. All donations to Agathians Shelter are tax exempted.