For years, this has been life for Haziqah, 16, and Hazirah, 11, who were both born with severe hearing impairment. Hasmi and her husband Hamijan Kong Abdullah are holding on to hope that kind-hearted Malaysians can help give their girls a brighter future.
The sisters from Tawau, Sabah require bilateral cochlear implant surgery and related treatment costing RM150,000 – procedures their parents hope will finally allow them to hear more clearly and live more independently.
According to Hamijan, his daughters had previously undergone implants on one side after years of fundraising, loans and public donations. The surgeries helped – but their hearing remains limited.
“Sometimes people need to repeat themselves two or three times before they understand,” he said. “As parents, we just want them to hear properly and have a better future.”
Hamijan, a plantation mechanic earning about RM4,000 a month, added that they learnt of their older daughter’s condition when she was five, only after teachers noticed she was struggling in school.
Years later, their younger daughter was diagnosed with the same problem. “It broke our hearts, but we knew we had to keep trying for them,” he said.
The couple brought the girls to Kuala Lumpur for treatment, speech therapy and language-development classes. While Hasmi, a housewife, stayed on with the children, Hamijan returned to Tawau for work, travelling frequently between Sabah and KL.
Doctors recommended implants on both sides, but financial constraints meant the sisters could only undergo surgery on one ear each. The family had to borrow about RM150,000 to cover medical costs and living expenses.
Last year, mounting living costs in KL became too much for the family to bear, forcing them to return to Tawau.
Despite the challenges, both girls have shown encouraging progress. Hazirah now attends a mainstream primary school, while Haziqah is preparing to step into adulthood despite some challenges in speech and language.
Helping the family is CCEP Foundation, an NGO that helps the poor, needy, deprived and underprivileged. Its CEO, Yvonne Yee, told FMT Lifestyle that a fundraising campaign was launched on May 16 with a target of RM150,000.
According to the organisation, RM120,000 is for cochlear implant devices while RM30,000 is to cover surgery, hospitalisation and related medical expenses.
As of May 20, the campaign had raised RM9,450.
“These children have already come so far despite the difficulties,” Yee said. “We hope the public can help them continue their journey and open up more possibilities for their future.”
For Hamijan and his wife, the wish remains simple: to see their daughters grow up with confidence, keep up in school, communicate without fear, and navigate the world more independently.
To contribute, donations can be made directly to CCEP Foundation, RHB Bank account 2621 9300 009 342. Please use the reference ‘Haziqah’ or ‘Hazirah’.
Please send CCEP your transaction slip via WhatsApp. To obtain a receipt, click here.
Learn more about CCEP Foundation here, or contact 03-7955 9999 / 010-279 8849.