Autos Community

PETALING JAYA: Life may have dealt Haslina Omar a cruel blow 11 years ago when she was suddenly widowed with four children, including a one-year-old spastic child, to fend for.

But since then, the 51-year-old mother has learned to overcome the hardship with patience and love. Her advice to single mothers is not to give up but to persevere.

“It was hard for me. I was left all alone to raise my daughter Nur Atika Shahirah Abdul, who is spastic, when my husband died,” she said at her flat in Kampung Lindungan yesterday.

“I used to cry every night thinking of my fate. However, I realised that I had to be strong for my children, especially for my daughter.”

Haslina, who used to work as a cook, said her life took a drastic turn in 2000 when her husband became jobless due to heart problems.

“I quit my job to look after my husband shortly after Nur Atika was born,” she said, adding that her younger son and daughter enrolled in residential schools while her eldest son secured a job after completing his studies.

Haslina became a part-time cook and also sold textile to nurses at the hospital where Nur Atika went for her check-ups and to her school teachers.