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Financial Aid for Kilina Lawrence
Testimonial
I am a beneficiary of the charitable act of Tun Richard Malanjum, Chairman of Osimal Foundation.
Since childhood, I always wanted to be a lawyer.
I grew up in Bondulu Children’s Home Tambunan, a boarding house managed by missionary nuns. I was under the care of Sister Rose C. Ginibun for almost 10 years, since I was in primary 5 in 2005. The hostel provides shelter for young children whose parents are poor, broken families and have difficulty in taking care of their children. I still remember, during the first week I cried days and nights even in school because I was homesick and I ran away from the hostel but came back later after one month.
I was introduced to the meaning of poverty at a very young age as my parents did not have regular income other than toiling a small plot of land for subsistence living. I also endured many difficulties during my school days. My parents did not have enough money to pay for my school books as they had to pay for the school fees and expenses for my other siblings as well. Because of this, I could only do the homework given by my teachers by begging my classmates to at least allow me to see the questions from their books. There was once when I could not do my homework and my science teacher caned me in front of my classmates. Only one of my classmates noticed the situation and told the teacher that it was not because I was lazy in doing it. I did not have the activity book containing the questions. I could have taken the easy way out which is to simply stop schooling. But I was determined to study. After the caning incident, I promised myself to take every opportunity to get involved in as many competitions as possible such as storytelling, public speaking and sports with the objective of getting cash prizes. That was the only way for me to get extra money so that I could pay for the books which my parents could not afford.
Growing up with more than 60 children in the hostel from all parts of Sabah taught me to be independent, tough and always strive for excellence. I have idolized Tun Richard Malanjum since my school days for all his achievements, efforts and the legal developments that he brought to Malaysia and Sabah in particular. My life journey taught me to always fight for what is right and do my best in everything I do.
After I completed my SPM in St. Martin Tampasak, Tambunan in 2012, I pursued my Form 6 in La Salle Secondary School, Kota Kinabalu, the same school that Tun Richard Malanjum went to. I decided to enter La Salle upon discussion with Mr. Edmund Tay Hock Kim, the former excellent principal of St. Martin Tampasak, as he knew that I was inspired to become like Tun Richard Malanjum. He made an effort to ensure that I got a placement at Benildus House Tanjung Aru, a boarding house that was managed by the late Brother Charles Michael O’Leary. During my time there, the boarding house catered for Form 6 students from distant places such as Tawau, Sandakan and Sook, Keningau who came to pursue their Form 6 in La Salle school.
In 2014, after all the hardships that I went through, I emerged as La Salle’s top 3 STPM students by obtaining straight A’s. I still remember when I had to skip lunch most of the time. I only ate during dinner as it was already included in our monthly hostel fee. When Tun Richard Malanjum initiated to build another hostel in SK Longkogungan, my heart was touched. It is undeniable that he has the interest of the ordinary and poor people at heart, especially those in the deep interiors of Sabah.
During my gap year before entering university in 2015, I volunteered to teach students at St. Theresa Hostel, Kota Marudu. The hostel is mainly for needy children particularly from remote areas in Kota Marudu such as Kg. Sonsogon, Kg. Nalapak, Kg. Tangkarason and Pitas who needed the support to continue their education.
After my university application was announced in 2015, I had the chance to pursue my law degree but as time passed, my interest changed. I applied to study Bachelor in Accountancy at Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) Sg. Long, Selangor and my monthly allowance was contributed by Tun personally. However, I found the course very difficult as I did not have any background in accounting, I literally gave up after two semesters.
I met Tun Richard Malanjum at his office at the Kota Kinabalu High Court. Tun adviced me not give up and I must continue my studies. At the same time, my scholarship from Biasiswa Kerajaan Negeri Sabah (BKNS) was withdrawn as I changed to a new university without informing them. I applied to study Bachelor in Accounting and Finance at Nilai University, Negeri Sembilan. In consideration of my good STPM result, the University gave me 100% free tuition fees as well as free accommodation. To maintain this award, I must maintain a 3.50 CGPA throughout all the semesters. I managed to maintain the score for a while. Unfortunately, in the final year, I missed by a few points. As a result, the scholarship was withdrawn. I had to raise at least RM20,000.00 to complete the course. I called Tun Richard Malanjum for advice and Tun said we should write a letter to seek support. Tun Richard Malanjum and I sent letters to a few high-ranking government officials including the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister of Sabah. Out of all the letters we sent, there was only one that replied, which is the former Federal Court Judge, Dato’ Seri Gopal Sri Ram. He contacted me on the same day and contributed RM 20,000.00 from his personal funds. I am blessed with all the golden-hearted people that helped me to achieve my dreams. Throughout my degree, I received more than double the amount that was initially needed, from Dato’ Seri Gopal Sri Ram. I pledged to myself to spend the money wisely. Since then, I have extended Dato’ Seri Gopal Sri Ram’s kindness by sending my sister to pursue her degree in peninsular Malaysia, contributed some money to a struggling mother who started her job in town, helped another mother whose husband was diagnosed with early-stage cancer and gave some pocket money to my parents.
I want to quote Tun Richard Malanjum’s life philosophy: “Life is only life and worth living if it is lived to make another life better”. Reflecting on the generosity that I have received throughout my life, I cannot deny the power of kindness.
Now I can finally stand on my own, I pledge to myself that I will return the kindness to society!
The Needy Student,
Kilina Lawrence
28th November 2021
