The courage and youthful determination of children who successfully underwent the ordeal of chemotherapy has inspired a one-of-its kind charity ball to raise funds to support others in need of cancer treatment.
Ms Jennifer Ong, Founder & CEO of HAPA and WAP INTL Sdn Bhd, the brainchild and organiser of the Chemo Graduation Charity Ball said, “The generous contributions from sponsors and donors enabled us to raise RM150,000.00 cash and sponsorships valued at RM99,000.00, donated to The National Cancer Society of Malaysia (NCSM) for the University of Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) and Hospital KL (HKL).”
“Dealing with cancer is a difficult ordeal for anyone, more so for children. Childhood cancer presents a lot of challenges for both the patient and their family, from diagnosis through treatment. To a child, cancer can be truly overwhelming as they are uncertain of what they are going through and why this happened to them. But, in the relentless strength of youthful determination they fight in their own ways. The Ball is also a celebration of their significant achievement, hope and inspiration for the other children undergoing the same ordeal. We wanted an event that will highlight, recognise and acknowledge the resilience and determination of these children.”
At the Ball, the 39 chemo-graduates, aged from 3 to 17, all of whom completed their treatments at the UMMC, received Certificates of Completion, “in recognition of their incredible bravery, courage and sacrifice” they made to fight cancer.” They and the 430 guests, 205 of whom are children from different orphanages and children’s homes were served high-tea, co-sponsored by the Royale Chulan Damansara Hotel. They were also treated to various performances, including a Ukelele performance by Kong Kiat A/L Bun Song who completed his treatment at UMMC, Elysee Music, iKindy Mind Enrichment Centre and Razak Rahman, Marc & Peter featuring Tita Razak, Puteri Ruzanna & Haqeem.
The theme of this special ball was inspired by Disney’s movie “Frozen” and there were lots of activities such as cupcake making, music workshop, body painting, bouncing castle, sand art, photo corner, Lecka Lecka gelato and also an ice skating session in the evening sponsored by the Royale Chulan Damansara Hotel.
Ms Ong said, “As part of HAPA’s CSR efforts and MAD (the organiser), we hope to make this Chemo Graduation Ball an annual event to continue raising funds in support of childhood cancer research and treatments for children.”
Also present at the event were UMMC Senior Consultant Paediatric Oncologist, Dr Hany Ariffin and NCSM Project Manager, Viji Nair. Dr Hany said there was nothing that made her happier than seeing the faces of children recovering from cancer. “We will never be able to relate to the feelings and emotions that the patients and their family members go through during the treatment process. We hope the donations will help improve cancer survival rates,” she said.
Special thanks to our main sponsors Sound Innovations and Borders, as well as other sponsors, donors and volunteers for their invaluable support.
Children’s Chemo Graduation Charity Ball 2016 at The Royale Chulan Damansara Hotel
