Yao Sern, a 14-year-old boy, recently made headlines for raising a remarkable RM62,000 (S$18,700) for a non-profit organisation offering free palliative care services.
According to The Star, Yao was pushed to launch the fundraiser in honour of his father, who had passed away from a brain aneurysm.
His father, who was in a state of coma as a result of the aneurysm, received palliative care at home for five and a half years prior to his death.
Yao also helped care for his late father, assisting with his needs and even taking him for walks.
The 14-year-old chanced upon Hospis Malaysia, a non-profit organisation that provides free palliative care, and decided that it would be a perfect opportunity to honour his dad by contributing to its cause.
Source: Google Maps
“I know how hard it is to take care of patients like my father,” Yao explained.
“So, when I found out that Hospis Malaysia provides these services for free, helping people who cannot afford them, I was touched. That inspired me to start this fundraiser for them.”
In his fundraising efforts, the 14-year-old student delivered speeches and took part in a charity bazaar at his school.
Additionally, he wrote multiple blog entries on the fundraising platform used by Hospis Malaysia, SimpyGiving.
The blog entries, which he wrote every two days, mainly centered around memories of his cherished father.
“I wanted others to know about him, and to remind those who knew him of the great person he was,” Yao said.
After about two months, he managed to raise RM62,000 (S$18,700), far exceeding his RM25,000 (S$7,500) target.
Yao shared that he was grateful for the amount raised as it allowed him to make an impact on helping give free palliative care to needy patients.
Ms Tham Su Ming, Hospis Malaysia’s strategy and communications director, received a mock cheque from Yao at a presentation during his school’s assembly on Tuesday (26 Nov).
“We are extremely grateful to Yao Sern for launching this initiative and creating greater awareness among his friends and school community,” she said. “The funds will go towards supporting our patient services, which Yao Sern is passionate about.”
His school principal, Dr Mike O’Connor, also commended him for his effort.
“He has turned a difficult situation into something that will help him process and move through his grief, which was really challenging. But he decided to do something positive and help others,” he said.
He’s really admirable, and we’re proud of him,
Yao’s mother, Ms Evelyn Boon, added that writing said blog entries allowed him to heal from the sudden loss of his father, with whom he was extremely close.
In addition, the experience was also a learning process for the 14-year-old, who learnt how to understand others better.
“After writing more and more, I could see him feeling lighter,” she said. “He has learnt so much through this – not just about healing himself and hoping to heal others, but also understanding people.”
Ms Boon also shared that Yao faced multiple rejections and false hopes in his efforts, but has learnt how to “respond better”.
As he is still a student, Ms Boon said that the process required a lot of hard work as he had to juggle other commitments such as tuition and extracurricular activities.
Yao’s blog entries, alongside his sister’s and mother’s inputs, had also been compiled into a book — which the family plans to distribute to donors.
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Featured image adapted from Google Maps and The Star.
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