JOHOR BAHRU – “A gift that touches the heart ignites the soul with flames of passion. A little help with a little smile gives meaning to human life.”

There are everyday, ordinary, unassuming people everywhere who demonstrate the joy of offering assistance without expecting anything in return. They see giving as a blessing because of the enriching feeling they receive while lending a helping hand.

Money will not last. Fame will not last. But how you touch others’ lives will always stay behind,” said Jayamary Anthony, 48.

The greatest happiness in the world is in helping the people you don’t know and seeing them happy and that’s what Jayamary has been doing all these 15 years.

This quadragenarian said that helping the needy in whichever way she can, gives her great satisfaction.

Over the years Jayamary has been helping out the needy comprises of the B40 group, the orang asli, single mothers, hawkers, fishermen and small farmers.

During the movement control order, her task became even heavier when she had to provide rations such as oil, eggs, rice, noodles, flour, biscuits, milk powder and other stuff to a number of deprived families.

She uses her own money at all times when she gets rations for them.

She owns a travel agency in Permas Jaya and she arrives at her office in the early pre- dawn and only returns home after dusk.

The travel agency is located in the heart of a suburban area which comprises mainly of the middle income group.

“I realized there were so many people who were impacted. Some were in worse situations and had no money for even basic necessities like food and other stuff,” says Jayamary.

She arrives at her office and then sets out her task to areas where the people are in dire straits.

Instead of focusing on her own business, Jayamary single-handedly decided to channel her energy towards helping the needy.

“I am just an ordinary Malaysian citizen who want to help those whose lives have been impacted by the pandemic,” she stressed.

Many of them according to her are sole breadwinner who have lost their jobs during the pandemic because they were day workers,” said Jayamary, adding that usually they have small children too.

“They were initially very shy and embarrassed to ask for help. It took them a while to gather their courage to approach me,” she reveals.

She has heard their pathetic stories and some are so distressing that tears flows down your cheek easily.

“It’s so heartbreaking to hear some say they just don’t want to live and on the verge of suicide,” she murmured.

She believes many in the rural areas are still struggling with day to day living with several can’t even still have a decent meal.

She has urged people who are able enough to do more with an attitude of generosity, give themselves in ways that lift all of humanity. The heart grows tender when we extend ourselves beyond what’s expected.

“Going the extra mile is a vital ingredient that lifts our mood, allowing hopefulness to rule,” she extolled.

During the lockdowns she was literally working out of the back of her car and taking the food parcels to where she knew would be, as many of them haven’t got telephones or any means of communication.

She knows that helping others is not always about giving money or material things. Some people just need a shoulder to cry on or some good advice.

And you don’t necessarily have to be friends with someone to be there for them. This is simply about being human and caring about other people’s well-being.

Many a times she has given out cash to families in need when the breadwinner is without a job.

“I can still vividly recall when I visited an impecunious family in Skudai as they were struggling to pay their utilities bill,” she lamented.

On another occasion, she said, one family even had their electricity disconnected as they were unable to settle their electricity bill.

Jayamary then aided to settle the payment.

She even narrated an instance when a family needed money badly and she came to their rescue.

Going further, she said she had helped some orang Asli families in Pandan providing basic necessities like rice, oil, sugar, milk as they were too poor and could not afford.

Not mincing her words she said while you might be lucky enough to live a comfortable life, others don’t have a roof over their head or food to put on the table.

“You won’t be able to help everyone in need, but your gesture, no matter how small, will definitely make a difference,” she quipped.

Her favourite maxim: “Always have a willing hand to help someone, you might be the only one that does.”

She has seen the poor, elderly, incarcerated and even those with disabilities, both physical and mental.

The hours are long and unpredictable. The work is hard, tense, occasionally dangerous and mostly in the shadow of the limelight.

“I don’t get paid for the work I do not I ask for recognition. As long as people require my assistance I will be there to lend my hand,” she said.

And for Jayamary, she will always be a hand that reaches out to the penurious at all times.

Recently Jayamary together with the Rotary Club of Johor Centennial (RCJC) and Maslee Supermarket distributed rations to some 25 needy families residing at Sri Stulang flats.

Jayamary and officials from RCJC and Maslee Supermarket earlier spoke to the recipients before handing out the rations to them.

Jayamary thanked Selvam Panjanthan, a resident of Sri Stulang flats for organizing and assisting in the distribution. She also expressed her appreciation to RCJC and Maslee Supermarket for sponsoring the rations and other items for the families.