The horns of Borneo

Teachers' Christian Fellowship ( TCF)  enabled me and 4 other ladies (dubbed the golden ladies) to visit 4 Starfish Hostels in remote parts of Sabah near the north horns of Borneo in February 2018.  Terence Ooi and his wife Deborah Chan, the coordinators of Starfish Foundation liaised our visit. We were hosted by Dr. Ong Xin Wei and Dr. Eunice in Kota Kinabalu. Dr. Ong is the daughter of Yoke Lee, one of the golden ladies.

The golden ladies from left to right: Yoke Lee,Debbie, Har Bee, Lye Choo and Chin Loi.

Terence Ooi  briefed and gave us some statistics and insights. A recent study done by the Ministry of Education showed that students in Sabah performed way below national average in public examinations for the last 10 years. This problem is accentuated by the lack of proper boarding facilities near schools for rural students to stay in. In rural Sabah, children and youth journey a long way and time (3 hours) to get to schools.  Getting to the nearest school on a daily basis is not an option. Starfish Foundation therefore builds hostels near to schools in rural districts of Kota Marudu, Pitas and Kudat near the horns of Sabah. Data showed 40%  of Malaysian hardcore poor lived here, making this area, the most impoverished part of Malaysia with combined household income of RM300 per month or less. Let me share some highlights of our visit to the hostels there.

The next morning, Terence drove us up north. The first stop after breakfast was Marigold Hostel, Solimpondom  in Pitas District. Although the students were in school, we still had an interesting time. We saw the fishponds and the vegetable farming here. Terence sent vegetables to Jubilee Hostel and we later arrived at Jasmine Hostel in Kg Talantang in Kota Marudu.

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Map shows the horns of Borneo and the ares we visite - Pitas, Kota Marudu and Kudat.

Our hearts were stolen by the delightful primary school children at Jasmine Hostel in Kg. Talantang. The kids were so hospitable and very well disciplined. They showed us to our dorms and helped us adjust to the facilities. Starfish hostels offer quality accommodations both for the children and visitors and are very well run.

The children had great hunger to learn. They were literally hanging on to our sleeves to max the learning opportunities. Instead of sitting on their chairs to learn, they edged themselves closer and closer to the whiteboard. When the signal was given to stop teaching for dinner, one boy asked persistently if they could continue learning after dinner.

The children edged nearer and nearer to the whiteboard in their eagerness to learn.

Lye Choo looking radiant when teaching the children.

Enjoying the children in my group. Love their sweet spirits.

Each child ironed their own school uniforms and prepared themselves for school. It was very clear the Starfish warden here Anglene Ulad had done her job very well to train even the little ones to be independent. Bravo –Anglene, Terence and Starfish!

Little boy has just finished ironing his own school shirt.

We slept comfortably that night in the dorm. It rained all night long. When we awoke, we were told the water supply had been cut but nevertheless the kids prepared themselves for school. We shared their simple breakfast of bread, roselle jam, 1 egg and 1 hot drink. Some kids sacrificed their hot Milo for us adults. We took their portions without realizing their willing sacrifice. What lovely children.

Sweet kids who gave up one one Milo for unsuspecting me.
Breakfast is bread with organic roselle jam and 1 egg and 1 cup hot Milo.

It was still raining and the usual route to school was flooded out! We detoured to an alternative route with each child in a raincoat or holding an umbrella. We trudged through big puddles in the rain in the muddy road! The kids were very cheerful despite the rain. Midway, all of us had to climb and cross a swaying broken bridge to reach their school. Below the derelict bridge, an angry river surged in fury. As  I stood at the top of the bridge and looked at the kids and teachers crossing over in front of me, the realisation of how difficult and dangerous it was for them to get to school struck me and salty tears flowed down my cheek, mixed together with the still falling raindrops. 

Children and teachers clambered up and crossed the swaying derelict bridge.

Cross the bridge while balancing umbrellas and school bag.

The broken wire mesh and broken planks in the precarious bridge.

We visited Sunflower Hostel in Sikuati district  and were briefed by Hyelda, the warden there, I loved the breezes there. We moved on to Rose Hostel in Kudat which houses secondary school students. Here, we stayed one night . That enabled us to interact with the students. We were surprised and pleased the students took turns to cook for 30+ people at the hostels.

Frankie cooks chicken for our dinner.

Hazel cooks us herbal eggs.

The hostels are well run and we enjoy the comfortable beds in the dormitory. The meals are nourishing and organic. and the toilets all functional.We enjoy our stay in both hostels, particularly interacting with and teaching the students.  Upon leaving Rose Hostel, Terence graciously took us for a leisure time to the tip of Borneo. It is a  beautiful rugged place where 2 different seas meet.

With Chin Loi at the tip of Borneo.

When we went back to Kota Kinabalu, we met up with my ex- student Marcus Khoo.  To our surprise, he brought along Edwin - a student who stays with him. Marcus  is one generous and brave young man who currently houses and feeds 3 ex-students as well as take care of their other needs. He received some help from TCF Timothy’s fund but it is still not enough. We asked Marcus why he fosters  these kids. He mentioned the abject poverty of irregular family income below RM400/- per month as the chief reason. Their parents could not provide for their children’s education – something much needed to break the vicious cycle of poverty.

Post our working trip, Yoke Lee drove us to the beautiful Kokol Haven Hill Resort where we had a therapeutic time. 

Har Bee enjoying the sunset.

Yoke Lee with the lights of Likas Bay in KK as the sun set.

My much loved plant, the YTT at Kokol Hill.

The sunrise above the sea of clouds

Mount Kinabalu in the background

Lye Choo with the flowers.

Mulberries in abundance here.

Har Bee, Lye Choo, Yoke Lee and me.

We had a lovely time, enjoying both sunset on the balcony and sunrise on Kokol Haven Resort. The sea of clouds at sunrise is awesome. We could also see Mount Kinabalu from our rooms. The grounds are beautiful with lovely plants and water features and overlook Likas Bay. On our way downhill, we visited the church with the huge cross at Menggatal.

Church at Menggatal on Kokol Hill.

Post Kokol Hill,  I spent time with a dear friend Mee Ping. Staying at her apartment allowed me time to catch up with her  and her husband Kam Keong and to visit lovely places in KK as well as eat of the wonderful food here. Thank you God for a lovely trip.

Mee Ping and me in her lovely home.

Sunset from Likas Bay.

Happy with Mee Ping and with great food.

Colourful.

Happy with Mee Ping.

Kam Keong serving us loh toong. Yummy.

I enjoyed watching the sight of tudung clad ladies buying bread
from a Chinese shop.We used to see this regularly in the old days
but I have not seen this in KL for the past 20 years maybe.

Upon returning to KL, I voiced my concerns about the children’s needs.  I am happy to report that kind people do exist in Malaysia. Mr.  GE Lee responded first by sponsoring 3 children. Suntrack Sdn Bhd responded positively by sponsoring 3 students at Starfish hostels and 3 students at Agape House. Lye Choo (1 of the golden ladies) sponsored a child. Mr. Ken Liew sponsored another 3 students at Agape House . Mr. GS Tan sponsored 3 kids for 6 months.  Dato' KH Lim and Datin Teh Siew Choo also sponsored 3 kids for some months. There are still many needs especially for Marcus Khoo and others. I do hope this article will move you to share their needs and cause some to take a step in faith in helping in some way