Heart of gold: Tamil Ilakkiya holding a doll she made for sale. She donated the proceeds to Covid-19 patients through a donation box outside a petrol station in Nusa Bestari.
JOHOR BARU: Ten-year-old Tamil Ilakkiya Ravichandran is a little girl with a huge heart.
She has been hearing a lot of stories about the difficulties faced by people suffering from Covid-19, so the Year Four pupil decided to raise funds by making tiny dolls.
Each doll was priced at RM5. Eventually, she collected RM115.90.
S. Ravichandran said his daughter put all the money inside a donation box for Covid-19 patients outside a petrol station in Nusa Bestari recently.
Tamil Ilakkiya said she learnt about doll-making during Seni class in Year 3.
For now, she is also feeding a stray dog with a broken leg.
“I want to be a doctor who takes care of children, ” said the SJKT Taman Tun Aminah pupil.
According to Ravichandran, Tamil Ilakkiya had been greatly affected by stories about Covid-19.
“She constantly reminds us about wearing face masks and using hand sanitisers when we are out, ” he said.
Both Ravichandran and his wife are teachers.
“She is a creative girl. She likes art and craft. So she decided to make dolls and sell them to friends and family members to raise the funds, ” he said.
According to him, his daughter has always had a soft spot for the less fortunate.
“She always wants to help the poor or whenever she sees someone in need like a beggar, ” he said.
Johor Doctors Association founder and president Dr Ng Kim Fong described the girl’s efforts to raise funds for Covid-19 patients as “lovely”.
“This gesture from a child is something to be proud of as this pandemic has brought a lot of pain and hardship to many people, ” he said.
He also thanked NGOs and other groups for their generous donations to frontliners in terms of food.
“I am very grateful for their thoughtfulness, especially during this period of time when we are overwhelmed and stressed, ” he said.
Dr Ng also spoke of the need for personal protective gear for medical personnel, especially 3M’s N95 masks.
He urged the public to play their role to help flatten the curve.
As of Tuesday, Johor’s caseload totalled 14,069 with 53 deaths.
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