Nur Ardillah (left) with her mother, Madam Azlina.
Nur Ardillah, 18, lives together with her five siblings and parents in a 2-room rental flat. In her free time, Ardillah loves dancing on Tik Tok videos and chatting with her friends online.
Diagnosed with multiple conditions when she was born, she had to undergo more than 20 operations and has more surgeries planned for her. When she was 10, she was referred to Club Rainbow.
“Before joining Club Rainbow, we were not aware of the support available for children like Ardillah, and programmes that can benefit us”
Madam Azlina is a homemaker caring for Ardillah and her five other children aged 9 to 20 years old; all of them are still schooling. Ardillah’s father is currently unemployed. He was a luggage handler at Changi Airport and was retrenched last year after air travel came to a standstill during Circuit Breaker. Since then, he has difficulties in obtaining a stable job. To make ends meet, he has been taking on odd jobs. Club Rainbow, together with other social service agencies, has been helping the family in various ways.
Financial Support
To help defray the family’s expense on education-related costs, Ardillah has been awarded bursaries for the past 10 years. Since 2011, we have been providing the family with cash assistance, as and when they have been assessed to require additional support. The cash assistance was also significantly increased from October to November 2020 to alleviate more of their financial burden during the pandemic. Provision of monthly food ration started in 2018, on top of the cash assistance they are already receiving.
Hopes for the future
When asked about her hopes for Ardillah. Madam Azlina said,” My health is not good. I hope that Ardillah is able to undergo all the necessary operations while I am still able to care for her. I wish that she is independent enough to look after herself when I am not around. Fortunately, she is close to her siblings, particularly her brother who always stand up for her. For now, I cannot give up for the sake of my children. I have to stay positive in order to move forward.”
“I wish to thank all donors for their generosity and Club Rainbow team for being ever so supportive. Ardillah enjoys the social integration programmes. Being able to go for outings as a family, and to Club Rainbow annual family retreat in 2011 and 2019, has given us opportunities to spend time together as a family, and help to strengthen our family bonding.”