KUALA LUMPUR: He has been walking with the help of crutches after a log fell on his legs 30 years ago when he was a timber lorry driver.

Since then, Kho Ah Kau, now 66, relied on his family for support.

“Life has been tough,” he said.

Caring party: Dr Chua presenting a 1MCA Medical Foundation cheque to Kho yesterday. With them are MCA secretarygeneral Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha (left) and deputy president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai.

“My wife doesn’t work. My three sons do not hold stable jobs and they earn just enough for us to survive,” Kho said, adding that the family could not afford his surgery.

But hope is not far off.

After receiving RM8,000 from the 1MCA Medical Foundation, Kho was able to go for surgery in August and this helped improve movements in his legs.

“I read about the foundation in the newspaper and decided to apply,” he said at the MCA’s 63rd anniversary celebrations at Wisma MCA here.

Kho was among 20 people who received more than RM140,000 from the foundation during a ceremony at yesterday’s event.

The foundation has approved 697 applications with aid totalling RM4.6mil since it was set up on Dec 13, 2010.

At the event, 21 youngsters also received assistance from the 1MCA Micro-Credit Loan Scheme For Youths.

Another 24 were given between RM10,000 and RM80,000 under the 1MCA Education Loan Scheme.

Hospital clerk Shuhana Ahmad, 52, said her daughter Nur Izzah managed to get an RM80,000 loan to pursue her dream of becoming a doctor.

“This shows that MCA helps all races, and not just the Chinese,” said Shuhana, adding that Nur Izzah could not be present for the ceremony as she was studying in Cairo, Egypt.

-The Star-