A heartbreaking scene unfolded as a single father had to separate from his 3 children and send them to a care home due to financial difficulties, which caused him to be unable to take care of them.
According to a report by Sin Chew Daily, the man, who works as a lorry driver for a construction company in Kuala Lumpur and earns RM2,600, shared that financial burdens had left him with no choice but to send his children to an orphanage.
Where this all started
The man had married a Vietnamese woman who worked in a coffee shop in Teluk Intan, Perak, in 2016. They then had 3 children, 2 daughters and a son, together but divorced in 2024 due to constant disagreements.
The court had approved the divorce and given custody of the 3 children to the man.
“At that time, I was working as a construction worker in Teluk Intan. My ex-wife asked for our youngest (son) and gave me our 2 daughters, but the court approved my request and ordered all 3 children to be given to me,” he said.
Unhappy with the verdict, the ex-wife and her family allegedly proceeded to harass him until he filed a police report against them, and the authorities issued them a warning and a summons.
“Although they denied doing anything, they stopped harassing me after receiving a warning from the police. I originally planned to send my children to (an orphanage in Teluk Intan), but I didn’t do that because of this incident,” he explained.
Instead, he decided to bring his 3 children with him to Kuala Lumpur and had sent them to a non-profit children’s home in the city, where he was asked to pay RM400 a month.
“To pay this, I lived frugally, only drinking coffee for breakfast, bread for lunch and rice for dinner. After my application, they allowed me to pay RM300 a month, but I still couldn’t afford it.”
“(The eldest daughter) is 9-years-old, (the younger daughter) is 7-years-old and (the son) is 5-years-old. They should have been in Standard 3 and Standard 1 of primary school, and kindergarten. But, the orphanage had them attending church classes instead of regular primary school and kindergarten,” he added.
Due to this, he ultimately chose to make the difficult decision to separate the children from him and send them to the orphanage in Teluk Intan, where they can participate in regular schooling.
“I will return to Kuala Lumpur for work and visit my 3 children in Teluk Intan from time to time.”
A heartbreaking separation
His 3 children expressed their willingness to live in an orphanage in an understanding of their father’s situation. However, it did not mean that the separation was easy.
Their father shared with them all the words of wisdom he could muster, but he was unable to speak at certain points due to his holding back tears.
He told his children to be obedient and to study hard so that they could chase their dreams as they grew up. At this point, his eldest daughter and his son had burst into tears while his younger daughter bore a saddened face and nodded along silently.
When it came time for the orphanage staff to take the children, his son held onto his leg, refusing to let him go. Due to this, he decided to go with his children to the orphanage in Teluk Intan to drop them off.
Proper care for the children
The orphanage staff explained that they will apply for assistance through the Department of Social Welfare so that the children can attend school.
“We will also arrange for counsellors to provide psychological counselling for the 3 children. Only the father of the children can apply to visit them; no one else can do so,”
“Some fathers may not be wealthy, but they possess the greatest paternal love. He travelled so far just to give his children a safe home. The orphanage will become a haven for these children, allowing those suffering to believe in love in the world again,” they said.
We genuinely hope that the father and his children will be reunited under better circumstances.
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