Kota Kinabalu: A 17-year-old girl in Inanam who sells kerepek to support her wheelchair-bound mother has been offered part-time work by a local businessman after her story caught the attention of Sepanggar Member of Parliament Datuk Mustapha Sakmud.
Mustapha, who is Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah and Sarawak Affairs), shared the encounter with Vanessa Eugene in a Facebook post, saying he noticed her selling snacks while he was having coffee and was moved to ask why someone her age was working rather than focusing on her studies.
He said Vanessa told him her father had allegedly abandoned the family, leaving her mother, Jovina, dependent on a wheelchair due to a chronic joint condition she has had for 20 years.
The family lives in a run-down wooden house on an uncertain income and Vanessa is sitting for her SPM examinations this year.
“My trials are very heavy but I am at peace with them. Every day I pray that God will open a way for our family,” Jovina was quoted as saying by Mustapha.
Mustapha said he contacted local businessman Jumadi, whom he had previously helped start the Nasi Kuning Tok Mus business, and Jumadi agreed to take Vanessa on as a part-time sales assistant, earning around RM1,700 a month depending on sales.
Mustapha said the arrangement was conditional on it not interfering with her schooling, and that he had also enrolled her in free tuition classes to keep her from falling behind, particularly in subjects she was struggling with.
“I want to see her go to school and finish the year with flying colours. That is why I also enrolled her in free tuition classes so she does not fall behind, especially in subjects she is still weak in,” he said.
Mustapha said the help was intended not only to ease the family’s immediate burden but to ensure Vanessa retained the chance to pursue her ambitions and build a better future.
“Sometimes the most meaningful help is help that arrives at the right moment. I hope this small step can be a starting point for them to rise again and live a better life,” he said.
