Living in poverty on her late husband's source of income as a rubber tapper did not prevent Kasanah Mukkeri, 79, from providing the best education to her eight children.
Armed with determination, her family found various ways to increase their income to finance the children’s education such as selling ‘kuih’ and vegetables, sewing, doing odd jobs in the village.
Thanks to persistence and patience, all her children now have good qualifications and hold important posts in the government service and private sector.
Kasanah's success in raising her children also received recognition when she was announced as the recipient of the Ammar Bin Yasir Family Award (Exemplary Family) in conjunction with the Perak state-level Maulidur Rasul Celebration, bringing home a cash prize of RM5,000, a plaque and a certificate of appreciation today.
Sharing her recipe for raising children, Kasanah, who comes from Kampung Pauh, Behrang Stesen near Behrang, said that she and her late husband always stressed the importance of education and encouraged their children to give to charity.
"Our family is not well-to-do but we are grateful for the blessings and sustenance that Allah SWT has given in raising children even though my late husband and I were rubber tappers.
"My late husband would work hard for the children because he wanted them to succeed in their studies and after he died in 2002, I imposed strict discipline to ensure all the children were successful in life," she said when met by Bernama today.
According to Kasanah, all sustenance is preordained by Allah, and as His servant, one needs to be grateful for the abundance of bounties.
"No matter how challenging the test that comes, you have to face it calmly and always talk to your partner.
"Children are a gift from Allah and always be patient in educating them, InsyaAllah God will help pave the way for each of His grateful servants," she said.
The award was presented by the Sultan of Perak, Sultan Nazrin Shah, who graced the event.
Also receiving an award was Amar Ariff Ahmad Po'aad for the Ibnu Abbas Award (Preacher), while NSTP Group managing editor Datuk Ahmad Zaini Kamaruzzaman won the Zaid Bin Thabit Award (Media Practitioner).
For the Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) category, it was awarded to the Marhaen Taiping Social Welfare Organisation; while the mosque personnel awards were presented to Zainall Abidin Zulkifli (Tokoh Imam), Hamzah Ramli (Tokoh Bilal) and Muhammad Noor Abd Yaseh (Tokoh Siak).
Source: BERNAMA News Agency