Diloi Anak Minjet, his wife Rosita Reda and their five children used to rent a house at Kampung Tabuan Dayak. In 2003, Diloi heard about Habitat’s housing programme from his manageress at the Sarawak Boat Club where he worked as a security guard. He made an application as the family wanted to own a house of their own.
They were struggling to come up with the high cost of materials as Diloi was the sole breadwinner in the family. Rosita’s father has a piece of land at Kampung Petung, 22nd Mile, Kuching/ Serian Road. The father consented for them to build on his land. Their application was approved and, in July 2004, construction began. Many family members, friends, neighbours and volunteers worked on the house, including a Habitat Global Village team from Japan comprising of 11 English teachers. The 3-bedroom 20′ x 30′ concrete block house was completed and dedicated in November 2004.
However, since 1999, Diloi had had numerous surgeries done to remove a recurring large tumour in his abdomen. In the middle of 2008, he was due for yet another surgery but unfortunately Diloi succumbed to the tumour on 9 May 2008. On his last day, Diloi had insisted to cook a “cha kueh teow” dinner for his family and he had also invited his parents-in-law. They had a good time that evening. Later that night, he passed away.
Diloi has been a very responsible husband and father. When he knew about his worsening health condition, he made many plans to ensure that his family would be well taken care of: he started to clear the land next to his house to plant paddy, sugar cane and fruits so that his family would have a source of income; he has also started to build a chicken coop so they could rear chickens for their own consumption and for sale (unfortunately this was only half completed). Now, Rosita works diligently on the farm, which is her source of income. Their eldest daughter is a temporary school teacher. Their 2nd son is a general worker. Their 3rd and 4th sons are factory workers in Kuala Lumpur. The youngest one is only 9 years old. With Diloi’s passing and the loss of his income, the family faced trouble making their no-interest loan repayment to Habitat.
Move by their plight, Habitat Kuching’s President (2008/ 2009), Albert Law, took action. Calling upon the generosity and compassion of his church cell group, Albert collected more than RM1,600 and, just before Christmas last year, presented this sum to Rosita, to enable her to substantially repay her debt. Yet another way in which Habitat’s Board members are quietly helping the underprivileged.