“A lesson on a human fraternity that warms the heart, lived among the least”. This is how the local Catholic weekly Herald Malaysia describes the initiative “Being Homeless for a Night” experienced by 17 Christians aged 17 to 79, as part of the Lenten campaign of the Archdiocesan Office for Human Development (AOHD) among the streets of Chow Kit, a suburb of Kuala Lumpur.
They went to sleep with homeless people, to get to know them and show their closeness. “In every interaction, we experienced their love for others: they helped us with words and deeds,” explains Melina Yeoh, one of the participants, in a story shared by the Catholic newspaper.
The group – which included people from eight parishes in the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur – gathered to kick off the experience with Mass at the Cardijn House chapel, presided over at 5 pm by Fr. Albet Arockiasamy, ecclesiastical assistant of the AOHD.
The celebration was followed by a coordination meeting at 7 pm. “Then we left with only the clothes we had on, the pieces of cardboard tucked under our arms (which are used to lie down on the street, ed.) and the identity card for checks of the police,” continues Melina Yeoh.
The first place visited was the soup kitchen in Medan Tuanku, but it was already past closing time. The group then headed towards a street at the back of the KL Krash Pad nursery. Here the first encounter took place with the homeless people, who were waiting in line for a portion of nasi lemak (a traditional Malay dish), to receive some water and a packet of chrysanthemum tea.
The first interactions were warnings. “One person told us that he was robbed while he was sleeping in the Bangkok Bank area – adds the participant in the initiative -. She told us to take turns sleeping and to keep watch.
He now has a room, but goes there every evening to be with his friends.” More advice on how to get food followed; although during Ramadan it is very abundant, and the group did not have any major difficulties for the entire duration of the experience.
In the country, the sixth largest economy in Southeast Asia, poverty is hidden but widespread, mothers and their children also live on the streets. “A truck arrived to deliver used clothes and toys,” says Melina Yeoh.
The group witnessed simple and unconditional gestures of help, such as that of a benefactor who offered an ice cream to a group of children. “The surprising thing was that half of the kids opted for instant cup noodles instead of ice cream,” she recalls.
After the first setting phase, the group split, taking different paths. The advice of those who are not new to sleeping outdoors has also come to the aid of Christians for sleeping arrangements. Instructions for avoiding mosquitoes, banks (where guards do not allow parking), and places without shelter from the rain. Street solidarity.
Melina Yeoh’s group met a “street brother” with whom they stopped to talk, deciding to lie down in the same corridor as her near a shop that opened at 8.30. “Fred (not his real name, ed.) was a very lively person – he recalls -. When the shop opens, he usually goes to an NGO up ahead to eat and take a shower.
The sweater he was wearing came from there. He advised us to put all personal effects under the cardboard, otherwise they would be stolen.” It was not easy to face the night for the participants, accustomed to the comforts of a home, a safe and protected place. Some of them managed to sleep for a few hours, others not even one.
To ensure their safety they were followed on sight by a “team” from the AOHD. “The hours passed, and it was difficult to sleep in the heat and humidity – says Melina Yeoh -. If I had been alone on the street, I would have felt the danger of being exposed to all the risks. I only did it for one night; Fred and his friends do it every day.”
It was a short-lived experience, but it had the ability to enter the hearts of the participants, making them grow in greater empathy towards people who live on the streets. “Every time I see someone walking down the street carrying a cardboard, I feel more connected to them, because we have shared an experience together,” admits the participant.
At 6 the following morning the group met near the KL Krash Pad, to have breakfast and to experience a moment of restitution led by Br. Andrew Manickam OFM Cap. “We pray that thanks to this activity, we change the way we live and appreciate more what we have, looking at what we can do to help more people in difficulty,” concludes Melina Yeoh.
