BUKIT MERTAJAM: A single mother’s 16-year sacrifice has culminated in a heartwarming Deepavali milestone, with her orphaned son finally securing a place at university after an appeal overturned a missed admission deadline.
Dayvesh, who lost his father when he was two, grew up watching his mother work tirelessly to support their family while caring for his 84-year-old grandfather, Tata.
By day, she scrubbed floors as a clinic cleaner.
By dusk, she scoured the streets collecting cardboard boxes and scrap items to recycle — tucking away every single sen into a savings tin, held together by one enduring wish: to see her boy step through the doors of a tertiary institution.
That dream nearly slipped away a few months ago when Dayvesh’s mobile phone broke down. By the time it was repaired, he discovered an overdue university offer letter in his inbox, but the acceptance deadline had passed.
Desperate to salvage the opportunity, his mother approached Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister and Bukit Mertajam member of parliament Steven Sim for help.
“She did not come to ask for money. She came carrying a dream that had almost shattered,” Sim shared in a Facebook post.
“Imagine a mother’s heartbreak when a dream years in the making, just an inch away, suddenly slips before her eyes. I immediately sent an appeal letter to the university,” he said.
The university accepted the appeal, allowing Dayvesh to take up his place and fulfilling the dream his mother had worked towards for more than a decade.
In the spirit of Deepavali, a multiracial group of youths mentored by Sim also surprised Dayvesh, his mother and Tata with a pre-festival shopping trip.
Sim said he was touched to learn that the youths had raised the money themselves by running community charity stalls, rather than asking him to fund the initiative.
For Tata, it was the first time in years that he had the chance to wear new clothes for the celebration.
The youths later gathered at the family’s home for an impromptu party to celebrate Dayvesh’s university admission, with Sim making an unannounced visit to join them.
“My heart melted seeing these youths. This is the Malaysia I dreamed of,” Sim said, as laughter and warmth filled the modest home.
“My heart melted seeing these youths. This is the Malaysia I dreamed of,” he said.
During the gathering, Dayvesh’s mother reminded Sim that he had personally delivered a laptop to their home during the Covid-19 lockdowns six years ago, allowing her son to continue his studies.
It was the same laptop Dayvesh had used to work towards his university admission.
Moved by the family’s resilience, one of the youths, Zulaikha, then asked to adopt Dayvesh as their younger brother, forging a new bond across cultures.
“These youths did not wait to become wealthy to serve. They only possess one thing: hearts that empathise with the pain of others.
“Our fortune is not what we keep, but what we manage to share. May the light of goodness always illuminate our path forward,” Sim said.