KULIM: Over the past two years, a father of three Mohd Sabri Ali, 52, was at his wits end after the left side of his body was paralysed following a stroke, forcing him to quit his job as van driver.
Since then, the family has been solely depending on his wife's income as a janitor while Sabri underwent physiotherapy sessions to regain his paralysed limbs' functions.
Last year, as his condition was improving, Sabri started doing light works by running a small stall at a shrimp pond in front of his house in Kampung Dusun here.
"I make use of my passion in cooking to sell fried meals and drinks at this stall to earn a living and support my family.
"However, I don't have the capital to procure more equipment such as a freezer and high-pressure stove to offer more meal varieties," he said.
His prayers were finally answered when the Social Security Organisation (Socso) presented equipment worth RM2,647 to Sabri today under its Return to Work (RTW) programme sponsored by Tabung Haji.
Kedah Socso director Rak Boon Tan Rat and Kulim Tabung Haji branch manager Zurita Khidzir presented the high-pressure stoves, a freezer, a soup pot with stand and burner as well as a range of pans to Sabri.
"I am very grateful to Socso and Tabung Haji for these generous gifts. This will certainly help me in offering a variety of cooked meals to my customers," said elated Sabri.
Besides Sabri, the other recipient of the RTW today was Mohd Syawalri Ismail from Sedim who suffered traumatic brain injury during an accident.
He received RM1,939 worth of freezer, commercial blender, a jug assembly, a foldable table and an umbrella to help him building his business capacity.
Meanwhile, Rak Boon said Tabung Haji has sponsored RM800,280 for Socso's RTW programme nationwide last year.
"Under the programme, we have spent RM28,933 to provide various equipment to 10 Socso contributors in Kedah. It is meant to assist them in building their small business capacity, while 12 contributors have benefited from Self-Employed Socso contributions worth RM2,793.60," she said.
Rak Boon added that the objective of the RTW programme is to help Socso contributors who suffered from serious injuries or suffering from critical illness to get back on their feet again so that they could earn a living.
"Most of them have lost their ability to work after getting involved in serious accident cases or felling ill. This programme is meant to assist them to get back on their feet either by doing reassigned jobs or running a small business that suited with their ability," she said.
She added that under the programme, Socso also provided funding for recovery treatment such as physiotherapy; tools to assist their movement which include prosthetic limbs; implants and work-site assistance by discussing with employers to reassign injured contributors to jobs that suited their ability.