PENANG: Wawasan Open University (WOU), the ‘people’s university’, has come to the aid of 21-month-old toddler, Muhammad Muhaimin Abdullah, who is suffering from neuroblastoma.
Muhammad Muhaimin, the only son of long-serving WOU staff Zubaydah Zamri, was admitted to the Penang Hospital on January 18th and his mother has been at his bedside since then, focusing her time and energy in caring for him.
Zubaydah works as an Assistant Library Supervisor at the main campus in Penang, faithfully serving the University for over 13 years.
WOU, in the spirit of a caring university, had collected funds through informal donations from colleagues since the middle of January.
The mother and son were also certainly uppermost on every staff’s thoughts during the WOU Chinese New Year luncheon held at the main campus today. It was only fitting to take advantage of Valentine’s Day to show love in action, especially since Zubaydah has had to take unpaid leave to be there at the hospital for her sick son.
“We had placed a donation box at the entrance to our Chinese New Year luncheon to allow staff and guests to chip in and help,” said WOU Director of Public Relations, Grace Lau. Among those who donated were WOU Board of Governors Chairman Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon, former Vice Chancellors Prof Emeritus Dato’ Dr Wong Tat Meng and Dato’ Dr Ho Sinn Chye, Dato’ Sharom Ahmat, and the staff of Heng Lee Group.
To date, WOU has collected more than RM5,000 to support Zubaydah and her son.
Muhd Muhaimin is suffering from neuroblastoma, a type of cancer that begins in the nerve tissue of infants and very young children. It most commonly arises in and around the adrenal glands, but can also develop in other areas of the abdomen and in the chest, neck and near the spine. His symptoms include swelling and bruising of the area around the eyes, uncontrolled eye movement or bulging eyes, and vision problems.
WOU is now appealing to members of the public to help Zubaydah and her son. You can directly bank in your cash/cheque into Zubaydah binti Zamri’s account as follows: CIMB Account No. 07420011727526.
For further details, contact WOU Director of Public Relations, Grace Lau, at 04-2180277.