A seven-year-old boy passed away after an arduous four-year fight with cancer.
As it had been a dream of his to travel on a cruise, his family took his framed photograph on a ship for a vacation.
The trip was made possible with the aid of a wealthy Indonesian tycoon, who provided multiple additional donations as well.
According to Shin Min Daily News, Wu Hongchang had been suffering from acute lymphoblastic leukaemia since he was three years old.
After learning he could battle his cancer with Chimeric Antigen Receptor Modified T-cells (CART) therapy, his family brought him to the National University Hospital from Malaysia for treatment in 2021.
Wu then received a bone marrow transplant from his father and the surgery was successful in June last year.
However, he had a relapse in December 2022 and his condition worsened a few months later in July.
This was due to a bacterial infection affecting his lungs and the cancer treatment causing his immunity to deteriorate.
His family celebrated his birthday on 25 July but two days later, he suffered from cerebral hypoxia. They then made the difficult decision to take him off life support.
A wealthy Indonesian tycoon and the founder of Mayapada Group, Tahir, stepped in to help with Wu’s treatment costs.
Source: CNBC Indonesia
He personally visited him in March last year and donated S$100,000 for the bone marrow transplant.
In 2023, he sent a further S$50,000 to cover his medical expenses. After learning of his death, he again gave S$20,000 to offer his condolences.
However, his aid to Wu’s family didn’t just stop there.
Speaking to Shin Min Daily News, Wu’s father said previously that his son mentioned he had never been on a cruise ship and hoped for his family to go on one together.
Hearing of this, Tahir sponsored the trip, allowing his parents and sister to go on a four-day and three-night cruise on 28 Aug. They brought Wu’s framed photograph with them for the journey as well.
Source: Shin Min Daily News
In an interview with Shin Min Daily News, Tahir expressed his condolences and hoped that Wu’s family would go on to lead a happy life.
He also shared that he is a member of The Giving Pledge. Set up in 2010, the campaign encourages the wealthy to donate a majority of their riches to philanthropic causes.
Having signed it seven or eight years ago in Seattle, he has promised to donate 50% of his wealth to charity.
Believed to be the only Indonesian in The Giving Pledge, Tahir said that he grew up in poverty. As such, he now wants to help communities at a disadvantage.
Also read: 56-Year-Old Line Dancer Dies Of Breast Cancer, Friends Dance At Funeral As Final Send-Off
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Featured image adapted from Shin Min Daily News and CNBC Indonesia.
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