By Zakiah Senin
Che Zuraidah Zainuddin, affectionately known as Kak Zura, served as a full-time volunteer with Yayasan SALAM Malaysia from 2012 to 2018. She was entrusted with caring for marginalised communities in Kuala Lumpur — drug addicts, sex workers, and the homeless.
Kak Zura carried out her responsibilities with unwavering commitment, sometimes sacrificing sleep to be present for those in need.
Though she shared no familial ties with the people she served, she gave her best. Many lived in foul-smelling back alleys, unwashed, with clothes rarely changed, bodies covered in sores, swelling, and even maggots.
Yet Kak Zura approached them without hesitation—sitting down to talk, offering food, cleaning wounds. If medical care was needed, she personally accompanied them to hospitals or rehabilitation centres.
If financial assistance was required, she guided them to government agencies or generous individuals. She encouraged them to seek work, helped them secure suitable jobs, and persuaded them to join entrepreneurial and self-development programmes at Suri SALAM, all in the hope of building a better future.
This story teaches us that true human strength does not lie in physical power or titles, but in a soul steadfast in carrying responsibility and trust. Such a soul can master its emotions, overcoming disgust and exhaustion to draw near to those who suffer.
It demands mental resilience to remain consistent, for this kind of work often faces repeated challenges, with results that take time — or sometimes yield nothing at all.
Yet it is hope that keeps us aligned with our purpose: the unshakable belief that every human being, no matter how far they have strayed, is still worthy of being guided back to a life of dignity and faith.
Here we learn that genuine love is not merely about giving — it is about enduring without weariness, respecting without conditions, and believing without judgment. With God’s will, transformation can happen at any moment, in any place.
(My reflections on volunteerism—principles close to my heart—are also shared in my book Suka Rela Sukar Lawan, published by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka in 2024. For inquiries, please contact zakiahsenin@gmail.com)
Zakiah Senin is a lead volunteer with Yayasan SALAM Malaysia, an NGO dedicated to volunteerism in Malaysia for the past 30 years.