Background

Mdm Masturah* is a 38-year-old single mother to 3 young children between the ages of 5 – 7 years old. She fled her marital home at the end of August 2018 after many years of physical abuse by her husband who also had extramarital affairs throughout their marriage. On a night at the end of August 2018, while heavily intoxicated, he repeatedly assaulted Mdm Masturah in front of her children. Fearing for their safety, she fled with her children in order to give them a better life.

After moving out of her marital home, Mdm Masturah and her 3 children went to stay with her mother, younger sister and niece in a small 2 room rental unit. Her mother is low income and is staying in a house under the public rental scheme.

The Struggle

At the beginning of March 2019, Mdm Masturah and her 3 young children returned back to their flat. Her husband is unable to enter the unit as Mdm Masturah is under PPO. Things were finally falling into place and Mdm Masturah was preparing to enter the workforce. However, on the 3rd of April 2019, she encountered an accident and suffered a severe fracture on her right foot. She broke almost all her bones on her feet and was hospitalised for 11 days. She is currently on medical leave and her recovery is expected to take 6 months.

While Mdm Masturah tries her best to remain calm despite her current condition, she is extremely stressed about her finances as her estranged husband does not provide any monthly allowance for their three children and all the caregiving duties fall on Mdm Masturah. She is also heavily in debt as she used to own an interior design firm. She was cheated by her sub-contractor and had to close her firm, leaving behind debts and losses. She has been unable to repay back her debts and there is a possibility that her debtor may start bankruptcy proceedings against her.

When things were finally falling into place and she was preparing to enter the workforce to better provide for her children financially and being able to start repaying back her debts, she encountered an accident. She is now unable to work for the next 6 months and worries about putting food on the table and being able to fully provide for her children.

Help Needed – Give Hope

Ray of Hope recently fundraised S$600 (S$200 x 3 months) to defray the resilient family’s living expenses while Mdm Masturah actively searches for employment. However, Mdm Masturah is currently unable to work due to her accident and Ray of Hope is opening a second round of assistance in order to assist the single mother and her three young children. We would like to raise another S$1,000 (S$200 x 5 months) to defray the family’s living and groceries expenses.

Please give hope to Mdm Masturah as she is facing difficult challenges one after another without respite. She is trying her best to remain calm and positive for her children, however, with financial difficulties, she worries for her children’s wellbeing and the possibility of being declared a bankrupt.

* Name has been changed to protect the identity of Mdm Masturah as she was a victim of spousal abuse and is under PPO.

* Mdm Masturah is currently receiving government financial assistance, however, the amount is insufficient to fully provide for her three young children.