Malaysian man gets online support after tweeting about mother who has cancer and makes handicraft to earn a living

KUALA LUMPUR, June 1 — Never underestimate the power of the internet.

This statement has proven true for 34-year-old Ben Farid Azhar Mohd Shaharuddin after he shared a photo of his mother’s handmade craft on Twitter.

Ben had shared a photo of a pair of homemade beaded slippers on his Twitter last Saturday with the intention of helping his mother to promote her products.

And he has had people ordering the handmade products since then.

“For those who didn’t know and those who already know, my mom is a cancer patient, she sells handmade beaded slippers to pay for her medical bills.”

“To those who are interested, please leave me a Direct Message and for those who are feeling generous, do Retweet for my mother’s sake,” Ben wrote in his Tweet.

Ben’s mother, Azian Shaharuddin, was diagnosed with Lymphoma Cancer about three years ago and also has high blood pressure and diabetes.

Ben’s tweet touched the hearts of online users and to his surprise, the tweet led to many Twitter users flooding his inbox to support him.

“Initially, I was just trying my luck, I shared just one photo and after that my inbox was filled with Direct Messages.”

“There are just too many, I am truly grateful.”

“My mom actually loves to do handmade craft and it is her passion. Ever since she fell sick and had to stay at home, I gave her the suggestion to continue it as a business.”

“Usually she would craft when there’s an order or by request only,” he told local portal Mstar.

According to Ben, who is a customer service officer living in Shah Alam, the doctor told them that his mother had only nine months left to live when she was first diagnosed three years ago.

Ben expressed his cheers and gratitude that his mother is still with him until today.

Besides that, Ben is also taking care of his 82 years old grandmother along with his younger sister who’s currently recovering from a torn ligament.

Apart from making homemade beaded slippers, Ben’s mother also does cross stitching and her craft can be found on her Facebook page.

As of now, Ben’s tweet has garnered over 3,000 likes and over 8,000 Retweets with some users were seen sharing a few more beaded designs that they found on his mother’s Facebook to the thread.

Ben was also seen notifying his social media users on his thread that he will reply to them as soon as possible as he was taking care of his mother who had been rushed to the hospital due to her illness on Sunday morning.