Picking up scraps and used goods is often seen as a job that is dirty and disreputable but at the end of the day, it’s still a way to make an honest living. Unlike being a thief or committing crimes to get fast money, this single mother decided to pick up scraps to bring up her children and give them a good education.
Source: Sinar Harian
According to Sinar Harian, 54-year-old Rahimah Dollah from Rantau Panjang started collecting scraps and used goods since 2003 to raise her three children who are still schooling. She said that there have been people who have ridiculed her job, but she chose to ignore the haters so she could raise her kids properly. You go, girl! Now, her kids are pursuing higher education and managed to get excellent results in their exams too.
She told the daily that her late husband worked in the village and she started collecting scraps to sell to supplement their income. “At that time, I was desperate to buy milk as my children were hungry. I needed to wait for my husband to come home in the evening to give me money to buy milk but sometimes, he did not have enough,” she said.
Source: Sinar Harian
“I started to collect scraps such as bottles, tin cans and others around the neighbourhood. I managed to sell them for almost RM50 and used the money to buy milk and food for my kids at that time,” she added. However, Rahimah said that in 2010, she received a big blow when her husband, Che Hassan Mohamed, 61, who was the sole breadwinner passed away from thyroid cancer.
Rahimah continued collecting scraps such as bottles, boxes and other items to raise her kids and send them to school. She worked hard, despite those people who looked down on her job. She said that every day, she would walk for 30km around Rantau Panjang to pick up these scraps using a wheelbarrow.
Source: Sinar Harian
Sometimes, she would also ride a bicycle as she said that she was not as strong as before. As a result of all her determination, two of her children are now in tertiary education. Her eldest son, Zainal Abidin Che Hassan, 25, is studying Mechatronics in University Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) while her second daughter Siti Zaitun, 18, is pursuing her A-Levels at Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) College, Kuala Nerang after she scored 9As in SPM last year.
Source: Sinar Harian
Meanwhile, her youngest son, Zainal Asyraf Che Hassan, 16, nabbed 8As in Form Three Assessment (PT3). He said that he has never felt ashamed of his mother’s job and was proud of her for making an honest living. In fact, the teen said he would sometimes help his mother out so that they could earn more money for the family.
It doesn’t matter what job you have, as long as you are making an honest living!
Also read: Terengganu Rubbish Collector Used to Tapau Food Thrown Out at His Workplace, Now a Millionaire
