A single mother of a 12-year-old son, Mdm Siti* tested positive for COVID-19 in June after visiting a friend who unknowingly had a family member with the virus. She felt herself becoming weaker, exhibiting symptoms of the virus which required her to be hospitalised and quarantined.

Prior to this incident, Mdm Siti spends most of her days working long hours from Mondays to Saturdays. Any extra time left, she spends it with her son together in their rental flat at Kembangan-Chai Chee.

Besides the physical discomfort of the illness, not being able to work for a month also took a financial toll on her. The hardest part of the experience though was ultimately the need to be quarantined away from her son.

Despite these curveballs, Mdm Siti continues to remain positive, attributing it largely to her son, who is her motivation and pillar of strength. “Everything I do I think about my son- I must be strong for him. I must focus only on the positive things. For me, it’s simple, you must see back at your failures and one day, your failures will get you success!”

She was also thankful for Filos’ staff, in particular Intan and Yayah, who constantly checked in on her and offered help. In addition, Mdm Siti continues to upgrade her skills through the Filos’ Mothers Group workshops and has plans for her son to enroll in Filos’ Tuition Programme too.

To other individuals and families in a similar plight, Mdm Siti shares her encouragement, “Don’t give up! With whatever that comes, just stay calm. You can overcome this!”

*The client’s name has been changed to protect her identity.