Article from The Business Times, 1 May 2013

YOUNG CANCER PATIENT'S WISH GRANTED

THE Make-A-Wish Foundation here marked World Wish Day on Monday by granting the wish of Marcus Ong, who has acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a cancer of the white blood cells.

The 20-year-old Singapore Polytechnic student, whose cancer has been in remission since 2011, had wished for a violin, and to learn how to play it. He received the violin, a gift from an anonymous donor, at a party at the Shangri-La Hotel on Sunday, and will start his first lesson at the Fasosola Music School soon.

This is the fourth year that Make-A-Wish Foundation Singapore has marked World Wish Day. The chairman of the foundation's board, Paul Heng, said : "No child asks to be born sick. However, everyone, especially a sick child, is entitled to have dreams. I am glad that Make-A-Wish was able to play a part in the realisation of Marcus' simple wish to have a violin. We wish him all the best in recovering from his illness and to go on to become a competent violin player."

The global Make-A-Wish movement began 33 years ago, when Chris Greicius, a boy from Arizona in the United States, was granted his wish to be a police officer for the day. His joy inspired the creation of Make-A-Wish Foundation, which has made it its mission to grant the wishes of children with life-threatening illnesses.

Paul Heng is founder and executive coach of NeXT Corporate Coaching Services