Datuk Kalimullah Hassan, the
ECM – LIBRA Foundation’s executive chairman revisited Kampung Talantang 1, Kota over the weekend.
His last visit was 10 years ago. He expected changes, improvement.
In his latest posting in the social media he wrote: –
They look a happy bunch. They are aged between 7 to 12.
They live 10 to a room (about 200 square feet) and sleep on five double bunk beds.
The gut wrenching part is they get to see their parents and siblings at best once a fortnight.
And that’s going to be the pattern until they finish secondary school, or if they are lucky, university.
(Or unless, by some miracle, the politicians get their act together and get the infrastructure to the interior.)
All this for the love of an old education and for a desire to escape the poverty trap.
These kids come from the poorest area in Malaysia – near Kota Marudu / Tandek / Kota Belud and their villages are at best a three hour walk from the nearest school or worse, a two-day travel over hills, across rivers and treks over travelled roads.
I have visited such hostels, as these kids stay in, more than 10 years ago. I thought things had improved; but no.
A retired engineer, Jimmy Lei, started the Starfish Malaysia Foundation in 2014 and today, funds and manages five such hostels in the Kota Marudu-Kudat-Kota Belud area.
Two retired Singapore lawyers, a generous feed mill owner and Jimmy find these hostels with support of individual donors.
It’s sad that after 60 years of independence, there are still many extremely poor people in a resource rich state like Sabah.
Jimmy’s philosophy is that you can’t help everyone who needs help; but he’s happy to make a difference to those he can help.
God bless him.
Our ECM Libra Foundation will support him to make that difference to those few that we can.
