Cuddling her Yorkshire terrier, Shezyan Zammit, six, has plenty to look forward to. Together with her family, she will soon be moving out of their humid, rented apartment into one provided by social housing. Photo: Mark Zammit Cordina

A Yorkshire terrier and a photo album filled with treasured photos of Shezyan receiving her First Holy Communion are what kept the Zammit family going through dark days.

Little Shezyan had received her Holy Communion in September, aged five, following special permission by the Church after she was told she would need to undergo chemotherapy to remove what was suspected to be a brain tumour.

However, a ray of sunshine glimmers. The family is eagerly awaiting the next important step that will make a marked difference in their quality of life. At the end of the month, they will be moving into a new social housing apartment in Żebbuġ.

The apartment is free from the damp and humid conditions that plague their drab, rented flat in San Ġwann. Recently, part of the bedroom door snapped and landed on top of Shezyan’s unsuspecting two-year-old brother, Ezekiel, leading to a cut and swollen forehead. The washing machine has broken down and the landlord resolutely refuses to make any changes to their dwelling. The family cannot afford to pay for the changes itself. Shezyan’s father, Vince Carl, works as a cleaner and her mother, Marisa, had to give up her job to care for the girl.

Shezyan, together with her father and brother, suffers from neurofibromatosis type 1, a disorder in which the nerve tissue grows tumours that could be benign but could cause serious damage by compressing nerves and other tissues.

Poverty is a suffocating feeling; finding a shoulder to support you is invaluable

As a consequence, Shezyan has developed lesions in her brain that need long-term follow-up to exclude malignant brain tumours. The condition also affects her eyes and, at times, even her behaviour, making her moody and agitated.

However, since being given a puppy by a caring teacher, her behaviour has improved drastically. The thought of moving into the new apartment has further uplifted her spirits and she can now hardly contain her excitement.

The family has been kept afloat thanks to donations by the public and, particularly, thanks to the director of NGO Daqqa t’Id Charles Saliba, who urged the government to provide a new home against a low renting fee.

The apartment needs to be furnished as only the kitchen and bathroom are equipped with the basic essentials. Mr Saliba is appealing to the public to help provide the furniture and other necessities, including three bedrooms, a kitchen table, microwave, cutlery, crockery, a washing machine, curtains, towels, mattresses and wall paint.

Shezyan hugs her brother. “I want to say a big, big thank you to all those who help us,” she chimes in, flashing a bright innocent smile.

Donations can be made by phoning one of the following numbers: 51502082: €5; 51602025: €10; 51702026: €15; 51802093: €25 and 51902056: €50. The NGO can be contacted on 9902 6827 or via daqqatid@gmail.com.