After witnessing the stark realities faced by the rural communities in Sabah some 15 years ago, retired businessman Jimmy Lei decided to return to Malaysia and set up a foundation. The 70-year-old Sarawak native shared that during a trip with his wife to the neighbouring Bornean state years ago, he saw school kids drenched in rain just to return home from school.
“One of the unforgettable things that we saw when we visited some of the villages, which were several hours drive from Kota Kinabalu, was these children walking home in the rain. But morning school finishes at around 1pm, so they should already be at home,” he said. Lei said when he spoke to them, he found out that they were still walking home due to the long distance to school. “This got me thinking – how can we make things better for them?” he said. It was then Lei had a lightbulb moment and vowed to help the children by providing them with a dormitory nearer to the school, so that they do not have to walk for hours