With a glass of water in his hands, the little boy tried to comfort his mother as they hugged for the last time. She had just made one of the most difficult decisions of her life: leaving him in a children’s home to travel to another country and work hard to give him a better future.
The protagonist of this story is a 26-year-old Malaysian woman who became pregnant at 18. After divorcing her son’s father, she raised him alone for a while, but financial difficulties forced her to leave him in the care of an aunt. Later, she remarried and had two more children, although that marriage also ended and she is now going through divorce proceedings.
When her relative could no longer continue caring for the boy due to the rising cost of living, the woman felt she had no other choice but to accept a job in Singapore, where she hoped to earn enough to change her children’s future.
With nowhere to leave the little boy, she turned to the children’s home Anson Jaz Home, located in Teluk Intan, in the state of Perak, Malaysia. Staff from the center traveled to Sekinchan, in the state of Selangor, to pick up the boy and accompany him during the transfer.
That was when the moment that moved thousands of people occurred.
Seeing his mother crying inconsolably, the boy filled a glass with water, approached her, and asked her to drink some to calm down. Afterwards, they both embraced through tears before saying goodbye.
The children’s home said that although they cannot change the difficulties the family has faced, they will do everything possible to offer the boy a safe environment, stability, and education while his mother works across the border in the hope of returning for him when her financial situation improves.
The case was reported by the Malaysian newspapers Sin Chew Daily and Guang Ming Daily, and it quickly sparked a wave of support on social media.