Tablet contributed by Ebit Lew a lifeline for three students with autism

KUALA LUMPUR: A single mother sighed with relief after she received a tablet donated by celebrity preacher Ebit Lew, describing it as a lifeline for her three children with autism and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) to follow the home-based teaching and learning (PdPR) method currently in force.

Haslinah Hassan, 40, who lives in a public housing scheme in Jalan Hang Tuah here, said her eldest son Muhammad Nur Izzat Ismail, 13, who studied at SMK Yaacob Latif under the Special Education Integration Program (PPKI) had been feeling disappointed and almost lost his passion for learning after the used desktop computer she had purchased online in October last year had spoilt.

Haslinah has two other children in school, namely Putri Nur Alya Batrisyia, nine, and Putra Nur Irfan Basir, seven, while her youngest son, Putra Nur Izzuddin Yusuf, three, who also has autism, is sent to the San Peng community rehabilitation centre.

"My three children who go to school are very interested in technology and the Internet. After the desktop broke down, they just learned using my mobile phone, and I would get the school work from their respective schools” said Haslinah, who also has a learning disability and suffers from ADHD herself.

However, everything changed when she saw a post on Ebit Lew's Facebook account on Thursday, with the preacher offering a giveaway of 100 tablets to students in need to follow online classes.

“At around 6 pm on Thursday, I wrote in the comments section of Lew's post. I mentioned about my son and three of them at school. I also applied for a tablet," she said, adding that she was contacted by Lew’s staff about 45 minutes later, and received the tablet at her home by 9.30 pm the same day.

Much to her delight, she received a laptop computer from another contributor yesterday.

Haslinah, who has been a single mother since 2019, is unable to work as she has to tend to her four children with special needs, and currently relies on the Social Welfare Department’s (JKM) allowance of RM400 a month, besides assistance from Baitulmal and other donors.

"I am touched by the contribution of Ustaz Ebit Lew and will make sure this device is used as well as possible," she said.

According to Haslinah, her eldest and second child can now use the tablet and laptop to follow PdPR while her third child can use her mobile phone for the purpose.

Meanwhile, Lew’s post about the 100 tablet giveaway was shared by more than 22,000 Facebook users as of yesterday afternoon.

Lew in a subsequent Facebook post said that within half a day, he had received 43,000 messages from those who needed a tablet for their children to follow the PdPR.

"There are quite a few who are disabled, unemployed, orphans and with low incomes. Please forgive me, as there are many more whom I couldn’t help," Lew said in the post.

-- BERNAMA