Background

Muhammad Rasul is 10 years old and suffers from hydranencephaly which is a severe congenital deformity of the brain. His brain is severely undeveloped, and he also suffers from seizures and spasticity. In order to relax his muscles and prevents it from hardening, he requires 20 painful shots of Botox once every 3 months. He is wheelchair bound and is non-communicative. He is unable to consume solid food and is entirely dependent on a special formulated milk fed through a feeding tube which is attached to his abdominal wall. Rasul has three other siblings between the ages of 5 – 14 years old and also stays with her two elderly paternal grandparents.

 Struggles of Rasul’s Parents

Rasul is entirely dependent on his parents especially his mother, Mdm Sri Rahayu, to care for him. Mdm Sri Rahayu is unable to work as she is Rasul’s fulltime caregiver. Rasul’s father, 46-year-old Mr Ridwan works as an aircraft technician. He tries to work overtime to supplement his income so that he is able to better provide for his family however, his overtime income is not fixed, and he struggles to provide for his family including his elderly parents.

Caring for a special need’s child is not easy and the family currently struggles to get by. Rasul is unable to consume any other food besides his special milk powder which is not subsidized and that adds to the cost of caring for a special need’s child. Mr Rasul informs me that before he received financial assistance from Ray of Hope, whenever he receives his salary, he will immediately buy Rasul’s milk powder. Due to this, the family has incurred arrears with SP and Town Council.

Give Hope – Help Needed

Ray of Hope initially fundraised S$2,304 (S$384 x 6 months) to defray the cost of Rasul’s milk powder. The financial assistance is due to end in October 2019 and Rasul’s parents have expressed concern about being able to afford Rasul’s milk powder after the assistance has ended.

Ray of Hope would therefore like to raise another S$768 (S$384 x 2 months) to defray Rasul’s milk powder for the months of November to December 2019. Rasul’s condition is lifelong with little chance of improvement. Please give hope to Rasul and his family as they continue to care for Rasul for life. Mr Ridwan is working extremely hard to give Rasul a dignified life however, his salary is insufficient to fully provide for his family. Therefore, a little donation goes a long way.   

*Mr Ridwan is not under government financial assistance