Friday April 30, 2010

Hearing-impaired girl’s call for help heard loud and clear

GEORGE TOWN: Eight-year-old Chai Yin Zhi’s call for help was heard loud and clear by Malaysians, and in just nine hours, they pledged a total of RM70,000 as they rallied around the schoolgirl who needs the money to undergo a cochlear implant.

Among the donors were two elderly men who turned up at her school to give RM100 each. They had received the money under the state’s senior citizens appreciation programme.

Reason to smile: Tham sharing a light moment with Yin Zhi.

The response was so good that SJK(C) Convent Datuk Keramat headmistress Koay Gim Ai had to stop the fund-raising at about 3.30pm yesterday when it hit the target.

“There have been so many calls, I’ve not had time to have lunch,” she said, adding that the office phone had been ringing non-stop even before the school opened at 7.30am.

Koay said the two senior citizens were among five people who walked in to hand over cash and cheques while the callers were from as far as Sarawak, Kuala Lumpur, Klang and Perak, pledging sums ranging from RM100 to several thousand ringgit.

Yin Zhi, who suffers from profound sensorineural hearing loss in both ears, has said nothing to teachers or classmates since entering school in Year One and is encountering serious learning challenges due to her disability.

In an effort to fund her RM110,000 surgery that will enable her to hear, the school board, parent-teacher association and ex-pupils’ association launched a fund-raising drive and managed to collect RM40,000 before the case was highlighted by the media yesterday.

When contacted, Yin Zhi’s father Chai Ming Teck, 40, said his family was overwhelmed with the news and was already trying to book a date for the surgery at the Loh Guan Lye Specialist Centre.

“There are so many things happening in the world, but this makes me believe people are capable of so much love.

“I am thankful to the school and public, and from now on, I will do my best to give back and contribute to the school and everyone in society,” said the 40-year-old sales executive.