Three years after receiving a single government-subsidised implant, Emjai, who was born profoundly deaf, underwent a two-hour operation to receive a second implant on Thursday.
Oamaru residents raised $40,000 to help pay for the operation, although her mother Nicola Rapson said a further $10,000 had to be raised to cover the cost.
Miss Rapson said no words could express her thanks to the town for raising the money that would help her daughter to hear.
"Most of it has come from Oamaru.
"There were a few donations from out of town, but we had a huge amount from Oamaru.
"There is not much we can say. 'Thank you' doesn't quite cut it."
Miss Rapson said Emjai had handled the operation well, but the result would not be known until the implant was switched on.
"She has the second implant now, she had it on Thursday, and she bounced back pretty quick.
"They do what they call a switch on, which is when they turn the external bit on, and that is on July 13.
"We won't know until then whether it is up and running."
She said the family had already experienced the nervousness surrounding the "switch on" when Emjai received her first implant, and they were "confident" it would work, despite the switch-on day being Friday 13.
The New Zealand Government funds only the cost of one cochlear implant per child.
Miss Rapson said although Emjai was doing well after receiving one implant, having two implants would make a huge difference.
"She's quite a smart wee cookie, she's quite academic, but the second implant will make a humongus difference.
"There are a lot of people out there saying two should be funded - you have two ears.
"When it comes to kids, you give them the best chance.
"The savings with two would be huge.
"They wouldn't need so many teacher aide hours.
"$25,000 if it is put in at the same time, compared to $200,000 for their schooling, just doesn't make sense."
Gallery Picture Framing in Oamaru will host a silent art auction fundraiser for Emjai on July 16-17, which would involve pieces of art given by local artists, she said.
