Hee giving out Christmas presents to all the children at the SCCS Family Day luncheon.
MIRI: Last Sunday was rather a fun and fruitful day for more than 180 people from over 30 families, a medical team and volunteers who attended the Sarawak Children’s Cancer Society (SCCS) Family Day at Parkcity Everly Hotel here.
The one-day event from 10am to 4pm kicked off with children’s activities whilst parents and guardians attended medical talks conducted by a medical team from Miri Hospital.
“The SCCS family day is one of the important activities in Sarawak Children’s Cancer Society calendar of events as it provides the families an avenue to temporarily get away from the trauma and physical as well as emotional stress of cancer treatment,” its president Jocelyn Hee said in her address before the Christmas luncheon.
“It is a great time for parents to rest and relax, pouring out their heart and feelings at the sharing session, whilst at the same time seek advice from the medical team during the medical talk. More importantly, the family day is a time for everyone including patients and their parents/ guardians, doctors, nurses and volunteers to get together as one big family,” she added.
The family day, where children and parents received gifts and presents, was held in conjunction with the upcoming Christmas festivity.
During the Christmas luncheon, the medical team and volunteers put up dance performances to entertain the participants. This was followed by a fashion show by the children.
Hee took the opportunity to thank sponsors who preferred to remain anonymous, adding that the generosity showed by the Good Samaritans was the reason SCCS family day was always a huge success.
The Borneo Post made time to speak to one of the volunteers, Shirley Ariffin, who has been involved with the charitable organisation since 2008.
“During that time, I was working with another company where I was assigned to approach SCCS for a CSR programme. I refused at the time, because I did not think I could handle the emotional burden of witnessing the children suffer from cancer. I did anyway, the more I understand it, I got attached more and decided to volunteer for good.”
Shirley stated that it had not been easy though, because she still saw children suffer and she could not handle the sad reality when some of them lost the battle and passed on.
“Nowadays, I would happily volunteer with the activities and awareness campaign, but rather keep away from being too attached to the children for fear that I cannot handle the heartbreak of seeing a patient pass away,” she related with teary eyes.
The mother-of-three, who brought along her sons, hoped to train them to do good deeds for society.
“I want them to understand that they are fortunate to be healthy and living a decent life, as there are people who are not as fortunate as them and that it is important to lend a helping hand, even if it is a little gesture,” she said.
Another mother, Suriayati Abdul Rahman whose child got blind after suffering a complication caused by cancer, said SCCS had become her family.
“Of course, my husband and mother-in-law have been very supportive along the way; the support shown by SCCS members and volunteers means we all share the same sentiment in dealing with childhood cancer. And I appreciate all the love and support given to my family and child.”
Suriayati said she hoped to be able to give back to society the same way they had given her.