JAKARTA: Friends and classmates of Raisha Anindra Pascasiswi, mother of a six-year-old girl who was killed in a car accident in Chinatown, Singapore, last week, have started a collection to help with her medical costs.
A post on the University of Indonesia’s Alumni Association Instagram account has called for donations to be sent to Raisha’s husband’s bank account. Raisha graduated from the university’s Chinese Literature programme in 2017.
“Let us pray together that the deceased will find the best place in the sight of Allah SWT, and that the family she leaves behind will be given strength and fortitude to face this trial,” the post said.
“Furthermore, we ask for prayers that our friend Raisha will be granted healing and will fully recover and be reunited with her family.”
Raisha’s older sister, Rara Anindita Swargastha, said the collection was initiated by Raisha’s friends.
“She is still in intensive care,” Rara told The Straits Times on Feb 9.
The Indonesian Embassy in Singapore said on Feb 10 that Raisha had regained consciousness and was in stable condition but remains weak.
“The Indonesian Embassy deputy chief of mission and relevant staff met the family again on Feb 9 to convey official condolences and to coordinate further assistance, including possible facilitation of legal support should the family require it,” the embassy told ST, adding that it had been in contact with and assisting the family since Feb 6.
It also said the family has expressed an intention to eventually transfer her to Indonesia for further medical care, but attending physicians have advised that she is not yet medically fit for evacuation.
Raisha was in Singapore on holiday with her husband, Ashar Ardianto, her six-year-old daughter, Sheyna Lashira Smaradiani, and her two-year-old son, when she and Sheyna were hit by a car in Chinatown on Feb 6. The two were taken to hospital, where Sheyna later died.
The embassy said the cause of death was cranio-cerebral injuries, as determined by a hospital autopsy. Sheyna’s remains were repatriated to Indonesia on the morning of Feb 8, and she was buried in the Tanah Kusir cemetery in South Jakarta later that day.
Rara was at work when she received the news that her niece, known as Nana to her family, had been killed.
“I was immediately in shock and hysterical,” she told ST. “My whole body cramped up, and I couldn’t move my arms or legs.”
Rara said the incident has left her heartbroken, as she was very close to Nana.
“I still cannot bring myself to look at photos or videos of the accident.”
Rara described her niece as a cheerful and caring child.
“Everyone who met her immediately fell in love with Nana because of her personality.”
Rara’s social media posts also depict Nana as an active little girl who liked to dress up in bright colours, mostly pink and yellow.
“Nana would often sleep over at my house,” she said. “When I went running, Nana would come with me. When I played tennis, Nana would also want to play tennis.”
Rara said she last saw her niece a week before Nana went on holiday with her family, during Rara’s birthday celebration.
“Nana asked me when she could sleep over again. I told her she could when I came back from out of town. I didn’t know that Nana would also be going on holiday,” she added.
In a post on the social media site Threads, Rara said that, while she was saddened by Nana’s death, her niece is now an angel in heaven.
“Pray for Mami, kiddo, so that Mami can get better and stronger soon,” she wrote. - The Straits Times/ANN
