KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 23 — Two Malaysian children living with life-threatening illnesses were shocked to have their wishes for a brand-new laptop fulfilled by the Children’s Wish Society of Malaysia (CWS Malaysia).

Homebound 11-year-old Nur Afifah Mat Nawi was all smiles when she received the new laptop that she could use for online learning classes with her teachers at school.

Nur Afifah, who lives with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), is wheelchair-bound and can only move around with assistance from her parents.

However, her disability has not deterred her from learning new things.

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Nur Afifah, who is the youngest of four siblings, has been using her smartphone with limited internet access to have Zoom learning classes with her teacher at school.

CWS Malaysia vice-president TH Teoh said they heard about Nur Afifah’s wish after she told her doctor at Hospital Kuala Lumpur that she wanted a laptop to make her learning more effective and fun.

“This was conveyed to us at CWS and we immediately said yes to her wish”

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Teoh said Nur Afifah was smiling from ear-to-ear when society members helped her log in to her WhatsApp using her laptop.

“She said Terima Kasih to everyone for making her wish come true.

“Her father, Mat Nawi who operates a pisang goreng stall was almost driven to tears seeing his daughter smile,” Teoh said.

SMA is a genetic disorder characterised by weakness in muscles used for movement.

When a child has SMA, there’s a breakdown of the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, in which the brain stops sending messages that control muscle movement.

When that happens, the child’s muscles get weak and shrink, and children can have trouble controlling head movement, sitting without help, and even walking.

In severe cases, the child will have trouble swallowing food and breathing difficulties.Noralisa Sofia Mohd Azeli (left) and her family members give a thumbs up to the new laptop. — Picture courtesy of Children’s Wish Society of Malaysia
Noralisa Sofia Mohd Azeli (left) and her family members give a thumbs up to the new laptop. — Picture courtesy of Children’s Wish Society of Malaysia

Apart from Nur Afifah, CWS Malaysia reached out to fulfil the wish of cancer-stricken teenager Noralisa Sofia Mohd Azeli who also had wished for a laptop.

Noralisa, who is an avid baker, is now happy to browse social media with ease for more cooking recipes to bake her favourite cookies.

The cancer-stricken teen, who battles left pelvic Ewing Sarcoma Stage IV with lung metastasis, said she had been baking and cooking and used her smartphone to browse for recipes and learnt from the online demonstrations.

She also managed to sell her cookies during Hari Raya and the movement control order while staying at home.

Noralisa has been battling cancer since December 2018 and has undergone chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

“We visited Noralisa in Ampang and shared light moments on how she can now watch her cooking classes online on the big screen. She loves making cookies.

“We hope she will find the laptop useful and at the same time help her with online school classes and self-learning, while in hospital for treatments,” said Teoh.

CWS Malaysia is a national charity organisation dedicated to fulfilling wishes of children with terminal illnesses or life-threatening ailments across the country.