Kota Kinabalu: Fifty members of the Class of 1975 of St Francis Convent Secondary School, and two well-wishers donated a total of RM8,500 in aid of the mission of Sister Dorothy Laudi whose hostel at Kg Sulit, Paitan was gutted by fire on April 5.
The two-storey concrete building was built in 2017.
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Former Hong Kong-based Inflight Service Manager with Cathay Pacific Airways, Yolanda Mah, who represented the “old girls” presented the sum to Sister Dorothy at Stella Maris Convent (Senior Sisters Home), here, recently. The presentation was witnessed by Mother Grace Deosing in charge of Stella Maris Convent.
Present from the Class of 1975 were Datuk Aminah Ambrose, an active politician, Mary Kiob, an early childhood educator, e-hailing driver Diana Choi, and homemakers Clara Chong, Jacinta Lau, Evelyn Mailap, Mary Kondokor, Lilian Teo, Lucy Chin, Christina Chin, Cecilia Chung, Annie Tan, and Shirley Pan, as well as well-wishers Brother John Tan and ex-La Sallian Ambrose Lim.
“Thank you for your time, energy and effort. May God bless you all for your contribution,” said Sister Dorothy who is seeking government assistance to rebuild the girl’s hostel with a capacity of 80 beds.
It was a double blow for the Franciscan nun whose house and kindergarten at Kg Sulit, Paitan were partially submerged during the severe floods in February this year.
Over the years, the dynamic Class of 1975 has raised funds at bazaars in aid of the Montfort Youth Training Centre, Sabah Society for the Deaf, SMK Konven St Francis Lab, and flood victims in Paitan, among other beneficiaries.
Meanwhile, social activist Datuk Afeiza Khan has donated two bundles of preloved clothes which will be sold to interested buyers to raise funds in support of Sister Dorothy’s noble work.
Now a retired teacher, Brother John from the Marist Brothers (an international Catholic religious institution), who hails from Melaka, spends his time weaving baskets, using sweet wrappers, to raise funds for the Franciscan Sisters.
“Back home, it was my cousin’s sister who taught me how to weave these baskets. You need to be patient as it is a time-consuming process.
“But I do care for the environment. There is an aspect of spirituality in the environment as it is a creation of God. I am putting these sweet wrappers to good use so that they don’t litter our surroundings,” said the 71-year-old Marist Brother.
Brother John, who previously taught in Hong Kong and Petaling Jaya, among other places, first came to Sabah in 2020 and became a teacher at Maktab Nasional for four years until his retirement.
