No keeping her down
Mother of five rebuilds life and businesses after accident
Mother of five rebuilds her life and businesses after a road accident disabled her.
KUALA PILAH: Nor Zaidah Ab Rahman, 42, became handicapped after a road accident in 2010 but was determined not to let the disability defeat her.
The road to success, however, had been tough. Two businesses that she ventured into – an eatery and a tailoring shop – caught fire in 2014, resulting in losses of more than RM200,000.
“When I was informed that my shops had been razed, I had just undergone surgery to insert a piece of metal in my leg at Hospital Tuanku Ampuan Najihah, near here.
“I felt the world had ended for me because the shops were my sources of income to feed my large family – schooling children, my mother and younger siblings,” she said at an eatery that she operates in Tanjong Ipoh, near here.
The mother of five children, aged between 12 and 24, said the assistance of RM250 from the Social Welfare Department at that time had to a certain extent helped her in meeting her daily expenses.
“I also sell cakes to my neighbours which gives me about RM100 a month,” said Nor Zaidah.
In 2015, welfare officials came to see Nor Zaidah and offered her a chance to participate in the “2-Year Exit Programme” (2YEP), which targeted aid recipients to increase their income.
“I immediately agreed. I was given a capital of RM2,700.
“Although the amount was small, I decided to accept it and bought two second-hand sewing machines and sewing materials,” she said.
Nor Zaidah decided to rebuild her tailoring and eatery businesses.
She does her own cooking for her stall, besides taking catering orders.
Now, her income is about RM1,000 monthly.
Recalling her trials and tribulations seven years ago, she said the moral support she received from friends in the Puteri and Wanita Umno wings in the Kuala Pilah division gave her strength to carry on. Nor Zaidah joined Umno in 2010 and is now an active member of the state Wanita movement.
Nor Zaidah declared herself no longer on the Social Welfare Department’s aid recipient list since November last year – a proud achievement that is testament to her hard work and determination.