CANCER SURVIVOR GETS TIMELY GIFT
Senior citizen can now rest comfortably in renovated home, thanks to TNB project
KUALA LUMPUR: A year ago, S. Paramaananthan was content with his life as a clerk in Klang. But that happiness was shattered when he was told that his mother had breast cancer.
Paramaananthan, 24, immediately resigned from his job to care for his 62-year-old single mother M. Vejaya Lechumany.
Vejaya’s husband passed away 11 years ago and although she had siblings, none of them looked after her.
To add to Vejaya’s misery, she lived in a dilapidated wooden house with a leaky roof in Kampung Pandan.
“I was very sad to find out that nobody was taking care of my mother,” said Paramaananthan, a bachelor.
“She underwent surgery to remove one of her breasts in December last year and now she is healthier,” he said when met at a ceremony for Projek Mesra Rakyat (People’s Friendly Project) in Kuala Lumpur on June 20.
The project was started by Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) as part of its corporate social responsibility effort since 2012 to assist the needy, destitute and handicapped.
TNB spent RM30,000 on new furniture and other essential items to ensure Vejaya’s comfort, said TNB Kuala Lumpur customer service general manager A. Sivanas.
The project began in mid-May 2017 and was completed the next month.
The sight of her newly refur- bished house moved Vejaya to tears as she thanked TNB and MIC Kampung Pandan, which initially raised her plight to the power company.
“I have suffered for so long. At least now I can recover in comfort without having to worry about a leaky roof over my head,” she said.
Paramaananthan was grateful that his mother had not only survived her life-threatening ailment, but was also happy.
Sivanas said TNB would continue helping the destitute through its welfare programme.
The ceremony was officiated by a member of TNB’s board of directors, Datuk A. Sakhtivel, who said TNB would continue to give back to society.
“We will continue with our social responsibility to ensure that those in need are given help,” he said.
At least now I can recover in comfort without having to worry about a leaky roof over my head. M. Vejaya Lechumany