New lease of life for poor school dropouts
PAPAR: Four school dropouts who left their studies due to the poverty and hardship of living in the interior of Sabah have been given a new lease of life by the Yayasan Peneraju Pendidikan Bumiputera and Excellence Skill Academy.
Elisa Maxwell from Kampung Marak Parak in Kota Marudu dropped out of school in Form Three when her parents could not afford to pay for her schooling anymore.
She is the eldest of seven siblings, and together with her, they also dropped out of school.
“Our school was located quite a long distance away from home,” she said, explaining one of the challenges they had to endure living in a rural area.
She added that she was raised by her grandmother who supported them by working as a farmer. Her father left the already impoverished family when she was still small and has never been heard of since then.
“He re-married and has not kept in contact with us,” she said, wiping tears from her eyes.
Elisa said that she was working at a sundry shop in Kota Marudu when the opportunity to start afresh and study at the Excellence Skill Academy as a spa therapist, came knocking at her door.
“I jumped at the chance. I thought that this was the opportunity I had been waiting for – a chance to improve my life and that of my family,” she said.
But it wasn’t easy. Members from her own village criticised her choice, dubbing the job of a spa therapist as an undignified post where one was required to massage strangers.
“My mom provided me with the push I needed. She told me not to give up. So I emboldened myself and arrived here in Papar with just the clothes on my back and not a single penny in my pocket. The academy paid for my journey right to the front of its doorstep,” she said. It was her first trip out of Kota Marudu.
That was three months ago, and since then, she has ended the theoretical part of her training and would soon embark on a journey that would take her all the way to Penang to put what she has learned into practice.
“I am excited. Throughout my training, I have learned the art of dealing with customers, the rules of the trade and I feel encouraged and optimistic that I can help make things better for my family.”
During her on-the-job training, she will receive a monthly allowance of RM1,000 plus commissions, as well as be provided accommodation and daily food sustenance at the place where she would undergo training.
“I have a simple but big ambition. When I receive my first salary, I will give it to my mother so that she will know just how much I love her. Then I hope she will also love me in return.”
Her peer, Suzianti Taihing, 22, from Sepulut Pensiangan in Nabawan also dropped out after completing Form Three.
To get to school, she had to walk for two hours on sometimes muddy and gravel terrains.
“Sometimes we get to hitch a ride with the company vehicle,” she said, referring to logging trucks that also travelled along that way.
“We would pack our school shoes and school uniform in our bag to protect them from the dust and soil. We would be all dusty or muddy, depending on the weather condition, by the time we reached school,” she said, amidst laughter from her other peers who also went through the same experience.
And like Elisa, her kampong folks also tried to dissuade her from joining the spa training.
“They looked down on the training and on the job as a spa therapist. I didn’t get any support at all, except from my sister and father. Even my mother was reluctant,” she said.
She was happy, however, that she forged on and after three months of undergoing training in Papar, she would head to Peninsular Malaysia for her final three-month practical training before her graduation.
“My dream is to one day open a spa outlet along Kalabakan to Tawau which is often frequented by tourists,” said the young lass.
Similarly, Charliee Lee Lautis, 20, from Kampung Sinua Sook Keningau, also dropped out after Form Three.
Like Suzianti, he also travelled to school on foot and was often covered with dust or mud by the time he reached there.
“My school shoes and uniform would be placed inside my bag and I would change my clothing upon reaching school,” he said.
It took him over two hours to reach his school at SMK Tulid if he managed to hitch a ride with any vehicle, and many hours longer if he had to walk all the way.
“I dropped out of school because we did not have money. My father was a farmer. My mom was a housewife,” he said.
“I would often hunt for animals in the jungle or look for wild vegetables to sell to the other village folks to sustain my family,” he added.
Charliee said that his father was not keen on him joining the training as there would be no one helping the family during his absence.
“But I told my father that we needed change. We cannot continuously live in poverty such as that. We needed to improve our life. And so, I came here.”
His cousin, Jurin Assim, 19, also decided to join him for the training.
Unlike his peers at the training centre, Jurin left school to help care for his ailing father as well as because of poverty.
“I spent three years looking after my father who was suddenly unable to walk, and then a year before his death, was fed through his nose using a hose,” he said.
He added that during those trying times, his mother worked in the field to sustain their family.
“It was extremely hard to get health services from my village. We had to travel through four villages just to get to the nearest clinic with my father and then, travel to the Keningau Hospital for his medication,” he said.
He felt that the opportunity to train as a spa therapist was a blessing, although not everyone in his village shared the same thoughts.
“They tried to cast fear by telling me and my cousin that we were going to be sold and that this was not a good job,” he said.
The fearmongers nearly succeeded in getting them to ditch the programme, if not for the advice from the manager of the academy, Stella Matuya, he said.
Stella, when interviewed said that this was her third batch of trainees under the programme organised together with the Yayasan Peneraju Pendidikan Bumiputera.
“There were 56 trainees between 17 and 23 years old. We received 34 females and the remaining are males,” she said.
The trainees hailed from Kota Marudu, Sook, Nabawan, Tongod, Sipitang, Keningau, Tamparuli, Kota Belud, Tambunan, Tenom, Pitas as well as Sandakan and would undergo six months of training – three of which would be spent at the Excellence Skills Academy in Papar and the remaining, on-thejob.
“While in Papar, the trainees are provided with lodging, food and a monthly allowance of RM100. All their study materials are provided for and we try to care for their needs, especially since for most of them, this is their first time away from their family,” she said.
“After undergoing the threemonth training in Papar, they would be despatched to undergo another three months on-the-job training where they will also be provided accommodation, food, return air ticket and a monthly allowance of RM1,000 as well as commission. At the end of the day, they could earn up to RM3,000 while still under training,” she added.
The bulk of the trainees will head to Penang where the demand for trained spa therapists is quite high, while some would be trained in Kota Kinabalu, she said.