FOR the past 44 years, 56 year-old Azizah Mohamad has dedicated her life to taking care of her three siblings. Through the lens of photographer Masry Che Ani, he captures the daily routine of Mak Teh — the sole caregiver of her older siblings — 53 year-old Noorlia, 61 year-old Habesah, and 66 year-old Zaiton.
Everyday, Mak Teh wakes up at 6am to bathe them and feed them their favorite meal of nasi goreng. She then goes out to the market and comes home to prepare their lunches. At 2pm, on an almost daily routine, she goes to the pharmacy to get medications and diapers for her three ailing family members.
As the sun sets, at 7pm she cooks dinner before helping her siblings get to bed.
Habesah and Zaiton have been paralysed since 1976, after a bout of fever. Noorlia also began to fall ill and now needs Mak Teh’s attention.
Mak Teh is dependent on zakat contributions, well wishers, and her father’s (who was a police constable) pension. “Even when I am nursing a fever I have to care for them as there is no one else around”, she said.
Unfortunately, Mak Teh herself suffers from some ailments, as she has hypertension and diabetes. Another one of her siblings, Ismail, passed away in 2010 at the age of 46.
