Whenever Ah Kai recalled those days when he lived in his car, he would always be grateful for the stable life he enjoys now …

​Ah Kai, at a young age, left his parents and hometown for a better livelihood and went to Johor Bahru. There, he met his beloved foreign girl, they got married and formed a happy little family with two children. Ah Kai’s initial job was lorry delivery boy. However, as a hardworking person, he was hoping to earn more for his family so they could have a better quality of life, therefore he resigned from his job and decided to move his family to Kuala Lumpur in search of new job opportunities!

The pandemic puts peaceful life in jeopardy
 However, just a few days after Ah Kai left his job, the coronavirus spread on a large scale and the whole country was forced to lock down. Ah Kai and his family were caught in a dilemma, they had to settle down temporarily in Jasin, a small town in Malacca where living standards were relatively low. However, their savings were depleted with the birth of their third child. Ah Kai and his family had no choice but to pack their important belongings and get in an old car to look for job opportunities in Kuala Lumpur. They had to move on even though they ended up with a car as their “home”.

Job Searching Episode
Ah Kai dared not slow down, he quickly went on for job searching and hoped to start working immediately. He requested all those potential employers to provide him with accommodation for 5 and allowed him to advance part of his salary. Unsurprisingly, the request scared off all those potential employers. However, it caught the attention of a human resources manager who learnt the story behind Ah Kai’s request. Although her company had no intention of hiring Ah Kai, she could still let her church intervene in the family.

As a result, the 7979 Holistic Care Station of Putra Christian Church began to intervene in the urgent needs of Ah Kai and his family, especially the needs of accommodation and cash flow, following the referral of the human resource manager Eunice Lee. The church applied for 7979 Crisis Intervention Fund for Ah Kai, and RM 1200 was issued to him which was divided into two installments as cash flow. Within two days, the church’s volunteer manager Bro Jeffy Sooncontacted David Khoo, the director of the non-profit organization Faithworks, and he made arrangements for Ah Kai and his family to move to Kepong to stay in a donor’s unused property.

7979 Holistic Care Stations Relayed the Love of Christ
At this point, the unused property was empty. Volunteers from the 7979 Holistic Care Station of Abundant Grace Assembly of God, Kepong took over the rescue operation and rushed to purchase bedding, cleaning tools and food, especially to deliver the children’s milk powder to Ah Kai. During the procurement process, the volunteers learnt they did not have any cooking tools, so they rushed to get Ah Kai a rice cooker and a gas stove. 

Ah Kai and his wife were shocked and couldn’t believe when people from different organisations offered assistance and helped them, they quickly ascertained and got confirmation that all services and goods were free of charge. The children jumped joyously around the empty house. The family of five no longer had to spend their days in the car. There is no need to worry about the car breaking down, or running out of fuel. There is no need to stand under the shade of a tree when the weather is too hot, and there is a bathroom available at any time.

Since then, volunteers from the 7979 Holistic Care Station of Abundant Grace Assembly of God, Kepong continued to pay visits and care for their needs. Ah Kai expressed that home is where the family is. Having solved the most difficult accommodation problem, he has the confidence and perseverance to be self-reliant soon.

Epilogue:
Ah Kai is now a driver on an e-hailing service platform, and the platform helped him to buy a new car. Due to his diligence, he has managed to come out of crisis. He thanked various units for their help. Ah Kai recalled the days when he lived in his car, and he was grateful for the stability he now had.