Rumika Jokiwa is all smiles as she puts on her first-ever pair of shoes, donated by Astro yesterday.
Brothers (from left) Lidisius Maringkang, Samsius and Jefsius are happy that they no longer have to wake up at 3am to walk more than three hours to school
Eight-year-old Rumika Jokiwa, a Year Four pupil of SK Magandai here, was all smiles as she put on a pair of shoes for the first time.She was happy because she no longer had to go to school bare foot.
"The size is a bit big for me but at least I now have shoes," said the shy girl.
Rumika was among 200 pupils of the school who received free shoes, uniforms and stationery from Astro through its "Astro Kasih" community social responsibility programme.
The distribution was in conjunction with the official opening of a three-block Astro-sponsored hostel, catering to 80 pupils from far-flung villages who, otherwise, had to walk several hours to the school.
Completed late last year, the hostel was launched by Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili, who is also the member of parliament here.
Rumika and her elder sisters, Wisinah, 12, and Yalu, 10, are among some of the pupils who will benefit from the hostel which, among others, is equipped with two-tiered beds with mattresses, a kitchen, a study and basic amenities like electricity and water.
The three sisters from Kampung Makatol Darat used to walk more than four hours to school before the hostel was completed.
"Now that we have a hostel, we can focus on our studies in a more conducive environment," said Wisinah.
Year Six pupil Lidisius Maringkang, 12, of Kampung Sonsogon Suyad, said with the completion of the hostel, he and his two younger brothers, Jefsius, 10, and Samsius, 9, no longer had to wake up at 3am to be in time for classes.
"In order to be on time, it takes more than three hours to walk to school from our village and we have to start our journey at three in the morning," said Lidisius, who aspires to be a police officer.
Ongkili said the Astro hostel project was not only confined to the construction of the hostel, but also improving the quality of education.
He hoped that with the learning facilities in place, it would improve the achievements of the pupils, especially in their Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah examination.
Nestled in thick secondary jungle, SK Magandai, which is attended by children from six surrounding villages, is 80km from the town here and is only accessible through logging tracks by using high-powered four-wheel-drive vehicles during the dry season.
The people in the area are made up of the minority Kadazandusun ethnic tribe called Sonsogon. They are among the poorest in the country and mostly farmers.
Ongkili said there were many rural schools in his constituency that required similar facilities and he hoped other companies would emulate the good work done by Astro.
Astro chief operating officer Henry Tan said the schools were also provided with an all-new Astro decoder, smart card and satellite disc, thus allowing the students to access 15 learning channels, such as the National Geographic, Discovery Science and Animal Planet.
