New centre for children with life-threatening diseases
For more than a year, Madam Rebecca Sit, 37, has been staying at home to care for her toddler, who has acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.
Three-year-old Damien Wai's cancer causes the bone marrow to make too many white blood cells.
After eight months of intensive chemotherapy, Damien, who was diagnosed with the condition in June last year, has been going to Arc Children's Centre since February. This means Madam Sit now can have time for herself and also run errands.
Arc Children's Centre, which started in 2011, is a daycare centre for children aged three to 18 with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses.
Saying she had never seen Damien happier, she told The New Paper that the centre was the right place for him.
Said Madam Sit: "It also gives him the opportunity to know more people in a safe environment instead of just facing his parents at home all the time."
The centre officially opened its new premises in Lorong Limau on Saturday. It has an indoor play area, among other features.
Co-founder Ronita Paul, 67, said the centre also provides a low-bacteria meal, taking care to provide safe food choices with proper food handling and storage temperatures.
Said Ms Paul, a qualified nurse: "This centre started because we wanted to fulfil a wish of a teenage cancer patient who had hoped for a safe and welcoming place for other children like him.
"We didn't know anything about setting up a centre, but a lot of people came at the right time to provide us with funding and the expertise we need."
Meals and transport are covered at a subsidised daily rate of $10.
Madam Sadiah Shahal, who has been a volunteer language teacher at the centre since 2015, finds the work fulfilling.
"You need to be someone who is very strong and be steady (enough) to handle children like this because of their medical condition," she said.
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