Last month I published a posting highlighting a call for help, "A call for Help: Help Aisya... ". I have received an update from Ms. Daphne Ling.
Bless her kind soul for all the work she has done for Aisya.
- Latest developments on Aisya on my blog
I'll sum up for you here.
Collections have reached Rm 8100, slighltly over...Have compiled a list so that people who wanna donate things (some are worried money might go astray, be misused etc) can do so...
If you know anyone who wants to do so, can please alert me, so I'll put next to the item they wanna donate that there's already a pledge, so we wont have repetitions...Just sms/email/comment and I'll put it up...Nobody has to donate a whole sum...They can just say, "I'll sponsor two months of *fill in blanks*"...Thanks a million.
Will keep in touch...
Daphne
Here is Dapne's posting..
- Dear all,
Donations for Siti Aisya have reached slightly over RM 8100...The donations (some of which have been cashed, some still in cheque form, some in money order) came from as far as Sabah! The Shahidans are extremely grateful for everyone's generosity, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone on their behalf.
I promised to provide a list of things that can be donated to Aisya, as some people find it erm, 'unsafe' to give money. Below are a list of things she needs, which we can help the family with:-
Diapers
Darling Aisya is only 8 kgs plus, so she generally wears a size M. She goes through about 7-8 pieces a day as the family now buys her the cheaper grade diapers, which are not very absorbent. This can go up to about 10 pieces a day. Anyway, we'll assume she uses about 8 pieces a day, which means she will need about 240 pieces of diapers in a month.
To sidetrack a bit: I suppose if she uses a better quality one, Aisya will not need as many, but it's just an opinion of mine...So maybe if someone wants to donate better quality diapers, she can make with 6 pieces a day?
I know for a fact that there are cheap brands from Tesco, Giant and this brand called Baby-Ku (A bag of about 80-slightly-more pieces are about RM 30-35). So Aisya will need about 3 bags...The more expensive will include Mamy Poko (I think it is the most expensive on the market)...
Total, for a year:-
Approximately 36 bags (cheaper quality); 27 bags (More expensive quality)
Food
Her daily porridge, fish, chicken, vegetables etc will be seen to by the family...
But if anyone can see to her milk, nestum and glucose, it will be most appreciated by the Shahidans.
At present, Aisya takes Anmum milk (3 years and above, any flavour). The pediatrician/dietitian have advised the parents to switch to PediaSure, but due to the steeper price, they have not done so. Aisya needs about 2 tins every month (1.8 kg per tin).
As for Nestum, she goes through about one tin on an average month (Price: About RM 9 per tin, unless you get it during promotions)...
The dietitian has asked the family to give her glucose, of any kind, but they have yet to start because of the recent loss of En Shahidan's job. I believe (not professional opinion) Aisya might benefit from Polycose, a special kind of glucose which helps the body retain nutrients and aids in growth...It's pretty costly, I believe, and if anyone is keen, I will speak to the Pediatrician about giving this to Aisya...I believe one to one-and-a-half tins every month is sufficient...
Total, for a year:-
Milk: Approximately 24 tins.
Nestum: 12 tins (RM 108). *Sponsored by Mdm Sarojini*
Glucose: 12-18 tins.
Portable Suction Machine
The Shahidans are thinking of buying a portable, light-weight, battery-powered suction machine for Aisya. The present one which they are using is heavy and electrically-powered and was sponsored by Baitumal. The fact that it is electrically-powered means that they cannot carry it along with them when they take Aisya out, especially to HUKM for treatment.
As you all know, Aisya breathes through an opening in her trachea (in the neck). This opening has to be cleaned periodically to remove mucus, fluids, phlegm etc, thus the need for the machine.
The portable one is available from a supplier in Puchong (specifically, I don't know yet), and the cost is about RM 1600...
***
My hope is that we can all help to raise these products for Aisya for one year...This is to give the family time to try and stand on their own feet again, and I think one year is fair and sufficient...I don't want them to have to worry about Aisya's needs while they try and regain their foothold...When money is tight, you can cut back on clothes, vacations, phone bills, etc, but not Aisya's needs, right?
As usual, please feel free to contact me if you need to, either by email, phone or as a comment...
Please leave me a note if you wish to donate, so that I can update the list with what has a sponsor so we don't have repetitions...Doesn't have to be full year donation: You could just say: "I'll sponsor two months of *fill in the blanks*"...
Cheers people! Thanks for the generous spirit and support...
And do give this posting a read: Aisya: Hope and Faith Never Left... (let me reproduce it here)
- Sigh...
I am supposed to be away, but due to quite a few emails and sms's which came in asking about Aisya after my visit with Kak Pi Bani to see Aisya, I thought I'd better clear this first...
As promised, Kak Pi and I met up (the world is soo small, because we stay in neighbouring neighbourhoods...literally) and went to Aisya's home, along with my parents...
I carried with me a cheque from Inti International College Penang, while Kak Pi, bless her soul, had within the short period of time, collected some cash from her group of friends to be handed over...
Little Syazwan, Aisya's 6++-year-old brother was washing the car (and himself, I might add!) when we arrived. En Shahidan, Aisya's dad himself was waiting for us outside the home.
I felt a sense of nostalgia walking into Aisya's home. And seeing her mother Kak Hayati sitting in the exact same position I saw her in when I was last there, it momentarily felt as if time had stood still for this family...
But for me, it was bittersweet...The first time I had set foot into Aisya's home, she had yet to go for her surgery: There was hope lingering in the air. I could feel the intense hope in Kak Yatie's voice as she talked about the upcoming surgery to create eyelids for Aisya, and having seen Aisya for nearly a year, I shared in the hope...
The last time I set foot in the home, Aisya had returned from surgery, and there was still hope...At that time, the eyepatch was still over her eye, and there was still no news about the existence of her eye, or the lack thereof...I was trembling with anticipation, eagerly awaiting the day when we would know for sure...But there was so much hope in the air...Hope that Aisya would finally see light in her life...
I went for The Star's BRATs Year-End Journey shortly after, and the first day of our journey was the day when Aisya's eye-patch would finally be removed...During a short-in-between break, I finally had the chance to give Kak Yatie a call...Her voice was forlorn when she answered the phone, the first time I had heard her so down...When she told me the verdict (Aisya has only the whites of her eyes), it was all I could do to keep the tears from spilling down...
How anyone could not cry is beyond me...Here was a mother (and family) who had harboured so much hope that their child would finally be able to see...While Aisya's eyelids were still fused, there was so much hope that maybe, just maybe, Aisya can see; but seeing for themselves that she had no eyes, so to speak, it was a terrible blow to all the months and years of hopeful yearning...
When I hung up, I burst into tears...
That was the end of last year...
When I stepped into Aisya's home last Saturday, I wondered momentarily if the hope I had become so accustomed to would be gone...
But when Kak Yatie said "Masuklah! (Come in!)" with a broad smile on her face, I knew I stood corrected...
After a round of introductions, we sat down and chatted...En Shahidan, has been hunting for a job ever since he lost his previous one, and we found it very admirable that the family, despite their difficulties, have tried their best to stand on their two feet...Despite knowing that there were on-going efforts to raise money for them, I admired that that did not stop them from trying on their own.
Right in front of their home was a small gerai, which the Shahidan family are trying to maintain by selling burgers, pizzas and dadih...En Shahidan himself will be going for a MARA-course to help him kick-start his business, and I sincerely hope it comes through...
What pissed me off is, despite Aisya holding an OKU (Orang Kurang Upaya) card, her family does not get the monthly RM 200. The reason: Because they have a car and home!
But can't anyone in the right mind see that those are basic neccesities?!? Anyway, those were bought when En Shahidan was still working...
Guess what the-powers-that-be said when approached for aid: "Kalau susah, jual aje la kereta atau rumah! (If in difficulty, sell the car or the house!)"...Tell me, which person with a heart (and conscience!) can say that and sleep well at night? I know there are rules which dictate who gets help and who doesn't, but I also know there is such a thing as "budi bicara" (A.k.a using your brain) to gauge the situation...
How can these people know it is them and their signature standing between a family and the funds?!?
How do you expect the Shahidan family to survive without a home or car? Little Aisya is terrified of strangers, and she has a permanent tracheostomy opening in her trachea, which has a hole to help her breathe. How do you expect her parents to take her for treatment in a bus or motorcycle? How can you subject a child who is terrified even of foreign footsteps to survive sitting in a crowded bus, or be cradled on a motorcycle, what with all the dust and pollutants in the air which might make her breathing even more laboured?
While all this was going on, En Shahidan was busy preparing a meal for us, made of homemade pizza (Yes, Kak Pi, I had two helpings!) and this homely-man was soon laying a table cloth on the floor with food, dadih and drinks...
We brought some Kentucky for Syazwan, along with a Chicky Meal toy, and he sure lit up when he saw the toy and ice cream. Good to know the little boy had a good time too...
Donations in the Shahidan family's hand have reached about RM 4000, and I believe (and hope!) that more will be coming in judging by the number of enquiries about Aisya and ways to donate, some as far as the United States!
En Shahidan and Kak Yatie sincerely would like to thank all bloggers and their readers who have rallied to their cause, and donated generously....
*Come on, people! We can do better!*
You know what? When I left the home, I realised (a little too late) that hope has always been there...It is because it never left their hearts even when circumstances allowed for it; it is the hope and faith a father and mother has for their child, which can never be extinguished no matter what...
As for me, I always leave the home more humbled than when I stepped in...
PS: Kak Pi, it was a pleasure to meet you!
Now, with the share market has been extremely kind to most folks and if ever you are one that benefited from the hot market and feel that you could help, do please contact Daphne on her blog.
Comeon, let's give some Hope and Faith to Aiysa!
Bless you all.
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