V. RAJESHWARY, 45, has no arms but she has been doing a great job raising her three children.
Her husband A. Selvamani, 49, said his wife was a good mother despite her handicap.
“My wife was only four when she lost both her arms in an incident in 1969. She is so strong willed that I do not see any handicap in her,” said Selvamani, who works as an assistant at a scrap-metal dealership in Batu Caves.
Rajeshwary was among 15 special mothers who were feted during a Mother’s Day celebration held at the Seremban Municipal Council hall in Seremban recently.
Selvamani said he was introduced to his wife by a friend in 1997.
“Initially we only spoke over the phone. I never knew she had no arms till she told me during one of our conversations,” he said.
When they met, it was love at first sight. They married a year later.
Glad to meet you: Zainab giving Rajeshwary a hug as Selvamani (back row, right) and their son look on. With them is Malaysian Public Service Society president Andrew Raju.
Rajeshwary, who does the house chores with her feet, said she felt honoured to be invited to the event.
“No one has organised a Mother’s Day do for me before. Today is truly special and I didn’t mind coming all the way here from Batu Caves to be here with the others,” she said.
Ruslinda Mat Derus 29, who is paralysed from the waist down, had good words to say for the organisers.
The mother of an eight-year-old daughter said she has never heard or read stories about special mums like her being celebrated on the auspicious day.
“I really feel appreciated today. It brings tears to my eyes,” said Ruslinda who earns a living making envelopes at Bengkel Seri Sembilan near Seremban.
She became paralysed following a high fever after delivering her only child.
“The doctor told me there was some problem with my nerves and that I would be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of my life,” she said, adding that she and her husband went separate ways three years later.
Ruslinda then moved from her husband’s house in Gombak in Kuala Lumpur to her parents’ place in Gemas.
“I was devastated at first but I then read about Ras Adiba Radzi’s plight. That gave me the will to carry on,” she said, adding that she also plans to pursue a diploma in computer studies once she has saved enough money.
Another special mum Ong Sek Ting, 41, was also glad she turned up for the event.
“Initially I was afraid to come as I am not very good at interacting with people. I am so glad that I came,” said Ong who attended the event with her husband Dee Beng Poh, 47, and two children aged 10 and seven.
Ong, who was born in Kluang, Johor, and who now lives with her shop assistant husband in Lukut, was afflicted with polio when she was young.
Due to this, she has a much shorter and deformed left leg.
“I stay home and make simple decorations for Malay weddings to supplement our income,” she said, adding that despite her handicap, she also looks after her 88-year-old mother-in-law.
Event organiser, Andrew Raju who heads the Malaysian Public Society said the objective of the event was to remind special mums that they were not second to normal mothers.
“We decided to hold the event as many a time the sacrifices of special mothers are forgotten. We tend to forget that these mothers have to put in a lot extra to raise their kids,” he said.
State women, family and community development committee chairman Datuk Zainab Nasir commended the organisers for holding the event to honour special mothers.
“This matters a lot to mothers, including myself. I lost my mum when I was in my second year at a teacher’s training college. Being a student, there was nothing I could do for her then,” she said.
She later personally met the 15 mothers and gave out ang pows and hampers.
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