Rainbow Family stories

Solihin- Indonesia

One morning, team Muslim Aid visited the house of an old woman named Nenek (grandma) Pairah in Yogyakarta. Nenek Pairah lives with her niece, Indatun, who she adopted as her daughter. Indatun also has a son named Solihin.

Around 30 years ago, the family learned that young Indatun suffered from mental illness when her parents left her for no apparent reason. Her mental state worsened when one day she fell into a well and was found by the neighbours after a few days. During that difficult time, Indatun was still at the 6th grade of elementary school and someone who heard about her story, came and adopted her.  Indatun was well looked after by the man who adoped her and she worked as fruit picker on a plantation.

A few years later, Inadtun’s foster father passed away.  Shocked and saddened, she could not cope with the grief, so Indatun ran away from the house without knowing where she was going. Indatun was confused and her mental state worsened- she was physically and mentally lost.

The condition left her helpless and one night someone took advantage of her illness and raped her. Without even knowing what had happened to herself, Indatun went on with her life. She settled in an old building in a graveyard complex unawre that she had become pregnant.

Indatun stayed in the graveyard for some time. One day Sapari, one of her old neighbours found her sitting in the rain. Sapari took Indatun to her aunt Pairah’s home in Karet village, Bantul. There, she gave birth to a healthy baby boy who they named Solihin.

“I can’t imagine what she has gone through. I promised myself that I would take care of her and Solihin, like my own daughter and grandson,” said Nenek Pairah.

Before the earthquake happened, Nenek Pairah used to work as a daily labourer in her neighbour’s paddy farm to provide a living for her beloved daughter and grandson. She received around US$ 1 per day for 10 days work, making a total of US$10 per month.

When the earthquake happened in May 2006, Pariah was severely hurt and her leg was broken. Since then, her condition became weaker by the day. She even had a wheelchair. Now, she has lost her only source of income due to her weak physical state and she cannot support her family.

The lack of income meant that Solihin, who is now 8 years old, could only study up until sixth grade of elementary school as he would need to work. Nenek Pairah in her old age could not continue to financially support her grandson’s cost of education. Indatun’s illness had also worsened and she spent most of her time silently sitting on her own.
 

Muslim Aid suggested that Solihin receive a scholarship from the Rainbow Family programme. The programme aims to provide financial support so he will be guaranteed a proper education. Muslim Aid started its Rainbow Family programme in Indonesia since October 2007. This programme gives scholarship to orphans and children from less fortunate families so they can continue with their education. Rainbow family children are provided with basic necessities such as food, clothing, healthcare, good education, a mentor and a trust fund for their future.

“We are very grateful for the help. I pray that Solihin can grow to be an educated and respected man. I am sure he will make his mother proud,” said Pairah.

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Thiruja-Sri Lanka

After her father died when she was just an infant, eight-year-old Thiruja’s mother was unable to look after her and went away.Not wanting to send the baby to an orphanage, her mother's sister Maheswari took her in, despite having three children of her own to raise on her labourer husband’s salary.

“I have only sons and I had always wanted a daughter,” she said.

For many years the family struggled to survive in their crumbling house in Kantale, a town in Sri Lanka’s north east. Now Maheswari’s elder sons have left home and she is now  left with her youngest boy and Thiruja.

“It is still difficult for us to manage with rising prices and the scarcity of work for my husband,” said Maheswari, who is thankful for the Rs 2,000 (US $20) she receives monthly from Muslim Aid Sri Lanka (MASL) under its Rainbow Family programme.

The money goes for school books, shoes, pens and sewing uniforms.Thiruja receives a further Rs 3,000 a month into a savings account so she can go on to study further.

A shy, serious child with pigtails and sparkling white stones in her ears, Thiruja is a good student and happy to be at school.

“Whatever happens, I am determined that she stays in school,” said Maheswari. “I am very grateful to Muslim Aid for the extra money that has helped us a great deal.”

Hafeez- Sri Lanka

Hafeez is a bright, smiling child of nine years old who wants to be renowned for his knowledge of the Koran when he grows up – he has already memorised twenty chapters.

His mother, Fazmina Nazar, could barely support her own three children, when two-year old Hafeez’s parents died but she did not hesitate in adopting him rather than letting him go to an orphanage. On their wages as tailors, Fazmina and her husband could not pay his school fees or for his uniforms and books.

Fazmina asked around for sources of assistance in her Colombo suburban neighbourhood and heard about Muslim Aid’s Rainbow Family Programme. She applied for funding for Hafeez’s school needs. Muslim Aid will fund Hafeez until he is 18 years old, enabling him to study with no financial difficulties.

“Because of Muslim Aid’s help we are now alright,” said Fazmina.

Romiza : Cambodia

Romiza remove her shoes at the foot of a ladder and climbs up to the traditional wooden stilt house. An old woman and a younger lay out a large mat and 13 year old Romiza sits contently.

The Rainbow family officer, Sen, encourages her to speak English so she says her name and how old she. Romiza has been attending a special English school every evening since August 2007 when Muslim Aid Cambodia started supporting her. She lost her father to an accident in 1995 and lives in her grandmother’s house with her mum and younger brother, Nasir.

Last Eid, Romiza received a special gift from her Rainbow Family Sponsor. She and her mother led the way into their tiny home, where in a small back room, narrowly squeezed in between the bed and the wall stood her new wardrobe.

Her Rainbow family mentor San Sim, explains that her school is too far away to travel on foot and that Romiza really needs a bicycle. Her mum has to pay a tuk tuk , or motorcycle taxi to take her, but there are days when she cannot afford this. A bicycle costs about $34 in Phnom Penh which is only £20 and would last Romiza 5 to 6 years.

Rizana Rahim: Sri Lanka

Rizana Rahim (not her real name) bows her head to hide the tears welling up in her eyes as she describes how her comfortable world was abruptly shattered last year.

For many years, Rizana lived a comfortable life with her husband and two children. They were not rich and lived in a rented house but they had enough to eat well and send the children to good schools. Rizana is a qualified Montessori teacher but stopped working after marriage.

That safe life came to a sudden end when her husband died after an unexpected heart attack, leaving Rizana with no means of earning a living, yet responsible for keeping her family together.

She had been surviving by selling her jewellery, but this source of income soon dried up. “We didn’t save anything; we lived from day to day believing that Allah will take care of us. There were no bank accounts, no house, no investments,” says Rizana, wiping her eyes with the end of a blue headscarf. “I have no one to turn to because even my parents are not alive. Luckily a relation has given us a small place to live but I don’t know for how long,” she sighs. “I am not even able to open a school because the place is too small.”

It is only when she speaks of her 11-year-old son that Rizana’s plump, pleasant face breaks into a smile. “He is always breaking and making the toy cars and trucks his father bought him. He wants to be an engineer,” she says proudly. “Whatever happens, I will somehow see that he continues his education.”

Despite the fact that she owed two years of fees, Rizana was determined to continue her children’s education in good schools. She researched ways and means of seeking assistance and heard about Muslim Aid Sri Lanka Field Office’s Rainbow Family Programme from the Centre for Islamic Studies in Colombo. Under the programme, Muslim Aid will take care of Rizana’s son’s education including school fees, books and uniforms until he reaches the age of 18.

“I am so grateful to Muslim Aid for providing for my son’s education. Otherwise, I may have had to take him out of school. Now I can bring up my children to be good citizens,” she said.

With her son's education taken care of Rizana can now look towards the future. She is currently seeking funding to rent a space and start her own pre-school.