Kamala*, a single mother aged 47 years old came to the agency wallowing in tears; she was at the brink of losing her only house and was simply ‘blank’ about the future of her three kids who needed her support financially. Five years ago, Kamala was left widowed when her husband of 15 years marriage died of a sudden heart attack. Since then life took a turn for the worst for Kamala and her children and things were never quite rosy again.
Kamala toiled long and hard hours at a manufacturing factory earning slightly below RM2000. The money she made was just barely enough to make ends meet. Kamala recalled how she and her three kids had not even bought clothing since her husband’s death, as they simply could not afford it. Kamala earned little, but she never had spending habits and always managed her finances well. She never imagined that she would be on the verge of losing her shelter, the one thing her family needed the most.
A few months ago life took on another blow at Kamala when the manufacturing company she worked for ran into financial difficulties and shut down without paying any compensation to their workers. In a ‘blink’ Kamala was left without a job and had nowhere to turn to. The only relatives she has could not lend her a helping hand, due to their own problems. Kamala went on for months working hard in search of a job that would enable her to earn a decent income.
Her search did not lead her anywhere; she was left without a job and soon begun defaulting on her loans repayment. Kamala could just not seem to find a job that nearly paid as much. Devastated, Kamala finally had no choice but to sign on as a cleaner for a quarter of the income she previously earned. He son who had just finished high school went in search for a job and secured one that paid him RM1000 per month. The combined household income of RM1500 relieved Kamala a little.
Just when she was about to get her life back to some sort of normality, Kamala received news about the auction of her residence. She was shocked that the auction date has been set. To aggravate matters, Kamala did not know where to turn to get the finances she needed to stop the auction. Troubled, she consulted a friend who recommended her to seek AKPK’s advice.
Kamala calmed down when our counselors told her that they would negotiate with the banking institution involved and make a minimal upfront payment from her EPF account towards her home. Within a day the agency negotiated with the bank and managed to stop the auction and further restructure the housing loan amount to a more affordable repayment plan. Elated with the outcome, Kamala thanked the agency profusely as she was ecstatic to get the roof back on her head. Though Kamala realized that she would have to work hard to keep up with the payments, nevertheless she is confident that with AKPK’s guidance on managing her finances, she is enroute to getting her life back on track.
**Note: For purposes of confidentiality, the real identity of the people involved in these success stories are not disclosed.