From humble beginnings to a sprawling home

TRIANG (Jan 22, 2014): It was almost 11 years ago when Yap Yoke Moey (pix) decided to take in eight destitute senior citizens out of sympathy as they had nowhere else to go.
She initially housed them in shophouses above the Singer electronic appliances outlet she was running, but was fined by government officials for safety violations.
Yap then bought a piece of land in Triang, Pahang and invested RM100,000 to start up a home, but did not manage to get support after six months.
"I learned that there was no home for old folks in Triang, so I donated a plot of land and asked my lawyer to find people to start it up, but nobody was interested," the 58-year-old said.
"Finally, I decided to do it on my own and invested an additional RM200,000 to start up Sang Riang Senior Citizens' Home in 2003, with two friends and an Indonesian maid to house the eight old folks," she added.
Today, Sang Riang is housing 142 senior citizens who are underprivileged, abandoned, critically ill, or mentally ill, and has 30 full-time staff working around the clock to take care of the residents.
Despite starting with humble philanthropic efforts, the home is now a sprawling facility with multiple buildings and is estimated to be worth over RM10 million.
In the complex is a dialysis centre where residents with kidney issues can get treated; the facility is also open to the public, where the poor can get treatment for free and those who can afford it, need to pay RM100 only per session.
The home also provides counselling and funeral services, which are well-equipped to perform the funeral rites of Muslims, Buddhists, Christians and Hindus.
Yap attributed the home's success to the Chinese press in Pahang who continuously highlighted the home's call for donations.
She also highlighted the need for a mental home at the facility as more than 30 of the residents there are mentally ill and need to be segregated.
For more information, the public can call 09-2505359/5379 or email the home at sangriang @hotmail.com. For donations, the public can bank in at their Maybank account: 506070-14-2793.