Norlina raises 50 needy children

Story by NG AI FERN
aifern@thestar.com.my

A MOTHER of 50 children, Norlina Alawi, called for more people to adopt needy children into their families.

Beside her own seven children, Norlina has adopted 43 children and two grandchildren ranging from four months old to 26 years old. Her adopted children include orphans, children with special needs and three of them have HIV/AIDS.

“I wanted to look after these children because I wanted to shower a mother’s love on them. If all women can follow my good way of doing this, we can change the fate of these poor children in this world, ” she told reporters during a Women’s Forum which was held in Kuching yesterday.

She said all her children live as one big family under one roof. She and her husband would personally send each of them to school and take care of them as their own children.

“I educate them and there is no stigma. I told them they are your siblings, you have to love them and hug them,” she said, adding that there were originally eight HIV/AIDS children but three were adopted by others and one passed away.

Many of her adopted children have parents who suffer from HIV/AIDS. In 2004, Norlina set up a home called Persatuan Kebajikan Anak-Anak Pesakit HIV/AIDS Nurul Iman Malaysia (Pernim) specifically to look after children of HIV and AIDS patients.

Their family expenses are about RM50,000 and 47 of her children are still schooling.

Norlina hoped her story shared at the Women’s Forum would inspire more women to follow her goodwill and emulate her “one big family concept”.

The Forum was held as a platform to discuss issues affecting women. Four other speakers at the forum include businesswomen Nora Kay, Nusmawati Yunus, Datin Lynda Ghazzali and professor Madya Dr Fatimah Bujang.