Li Huan holding her new laptop while flanked by Tan and Ho.
SIXTEEN-year-old Song Li Huan could not contain her joy when she received a new set of hearing aid to replace the one that she had been using for over a decade.
Li Huan, the older of two siblings, said she was excited to finally get the new pair and hoped that her hearing would be better.
“I have been using the old set since I was about five years old and it helped me.
“But lately, it had become difficult for me to hear anything despite having it on, ” she said before having the new device presented to her in Johor Baru.
Her mother, Tan Siew Chin, 47 said she hoped that the new hearing aid would help her daughter gain confidence.
“We noticed that she had trouble listening to us when she was about five years old.
“We took her to a doctor who told us that she was suffering from profound hearing loss and needed hearing aid.
“We got her the hearing aid but as she grew older, it became more difficult for her to hear despite having them on, ” she said.
The hearing aid, which cost RM7,000, was sponsored by Yayasan Kebajikan Suria Johor Baru, a Johor-based non-governmental organisation which has been assisting those in need.
Its founder and secretary James Ho said he hoped that the hearing aid would help the teenager in her studies and allow her to reach her full potential.
“We also gave her a laptop to help with her online lessons as she had been using a cellphone for her virtual classes and homework all this time, ” he said.
Li Huan is among 19 students who received refurbished laptops from the NGO since March last year.
“We usually buy two or three laptops to be donated to those who require them, ” Ho said, adding that the organisation had two more laptops to be given away.