Cake day: The triplets (from left) Yu Keong, Yen Fong, and Yu Fook with their cake and gifts at Tadika Heng Ee in Penang.
It was thanks to public generosity that the five-year-old Woo triplets two boys and a girl got to have their fifth birthday party with their family.
When they were born, their father, kitchen helper Woo Kwee Fatt, 62, already had two sons and was struggling to make ends meet as the family's sole breadwinner.
“I was only earning RM50 per day then. There were offers to adopt and even buy' my triplets. But I was adamant that they would remain with the family.
“I just could not bear to separate them. God has blessed me threefold and while it has been tough, I am happy,” said the beaming father, thanking the public for the donations which had kept the family afloat for five years.
To be fair to his triplets boys Yu Fook and Yu Keong, and their sister Yen Fong, Woo said he had to buy everything in threes so that no one would feel left out.
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“The girl, Yen Fong, who was born just three seconds after Yu Fook, always makes sure to take care of him and her younger brother, Yu Keong.
“When it's time for their milk, she always allows the other two to be fed first.
“They are all very close,” he said during a birthday party at Tadika Heng Ee in Lintang Macallum 2 here yesterday.
Yen Fong, who was dolled up in pink frock and braided hair for the occasion, said that she was “happy”. The triplets' actual birthday falls tomorrow.
Woo now earns RM1,800 each month while his 35-year-old Indonesian wife, who wished to be known as Ely, stays at home at their rented flat in Gat Lebuh Macallum to care for their five children.
On July 18, 2008, the family's plight was highlighted in the media, which led to public donations.
The family's trust fund committee secretary Lee Thuan Chye said this year, a donor had given RM1,650 for the triplets' kindergarten fees.
“They will continue their studies at SRJK (C) Li Teik, and I hope someone can provide them with free Mandarin tuition as their mother cannot speak the language and their father works the whole day,” said Lee.
