HOME AND HOSTEL
Currently (in the year 2020), we have 63 girls staying at St. Maria Goretti Hostel. The students are mostly from the remote rural areas of interior Keningau who left their families to pursue their studies in the various schools in Keningau. The non-profit charitable hostel which was initiated by the Catholic Diocese of Keningau was completed in August 2000, was blessed by His Lordship Bishop Datuk Cornelius Piong on Jan 19, 2001, and officially opened on June 28, 2003. The FSIC has been entrusted to manage the hostel, especially to supervise the academic and spiritual formation of the boarders. Sr. Francisca Wong is currently the person in charge of the Hostel.
Through the efforts of many generous donors and benefactors, the home was completed and officially opened on 22 November 1987 by Rt. Rev. E. John Lee. Currently, there are 38 elderly people residing in the Holy Family Residence. Sr. Mary Clara Orow, FSIC is currently the sister in charge of the residence while Rev. Fr. Aloysius Fidelis is the Chaplain.
Together with the Convent, the current building of the San Damiano Hostel for girls was built and completed in 1992 through the supervision of the late Sr. Alphonsus Low, fsic. A year later, in 1993, the boy’s hostel (currently looked after by the Monfort Association), was also completed. The hostels were built to accommodate the students coming from far away villages to further their studies. Currently, there are 70 girls residing in the Hostel under the supervision of Sr. Jane Sandalun, Fsic.
The Rumah Kanak-Kanak Bondulu was built in 1990 and started its operation towards the end of the same year. On 16th January 1994, the home was officially opened with the blessing of Rt. Rev. Bishop Datuk Cornelius Piong. The home which was built for the children of the poor and remotest families is financially supported by public donations both from different associations as well as individuals, among them Tan Seri Dtk Penglima Pairin Kitingan and many more generous donors including anonymous donors. At present, there are boys and girls students residing in the home with Sr. Germaine Angkangon, fsic, and Sr. Liza Pileh, FSIC as their guardians.
St. Theresa Hostel, together with St. Rose Convent, was completed with the help of Fr. Felix Chung in 1999. The hostel was built to cater to the needs of the poor and needy students (boys and girls) coming from the remote villages of Kota Marudu who come to live in the town in order to get a formal education. Sr. M. Olga James, fsic is the Sister in charge of the hostel at the moment.
There are two hostels run by the FSIC Sisters in Paitan. Pride Hostel, Sulit Paitan was built in 2017 to cater to secondary school students both boys and girls. Currently, there are 12 students staying in a hostel which in fact can accommodate 80 students. The other hostel is located at Kampung Tawanan Paitan, which was built earlier in 2010 and is meant for Kindergarten children, coming from poor families living far away from Kindergarten school. There are 9 children aged 4, 5, and 6 years old staying in the Kg. Tawanan Hostel at the moment. Sr. Dorothy Laudi, FSIC is taking charge of the Hostel with the help of a warden and a cook for each hostel to take care of the boarders. These poor children are entrusted to FSIC sisters’ care by their parents, who cannot afford to send their children to school every day. The children are allowed to go home to visit their parents and families on weekends.
Initially the boarding house was an old wooden Convent which was turned into a hostel in 1974, for young girls from the outstations, to enable them to further their studies in the nearby Mission Schools. Presently (for the year 2020), there are seven students girls and three working girls staying in the hostel under the supervision of Sr. Bevelly Collin, a young FSIC sister.
In 1969, the doctor’s house that initially started the Mission dispensary in 1966, was converted into Don Bosco children’s home to provide some space for the growing number of orphans and needy children. The public has taken a keen interest in the children of Don Bosco. Since its establishment, various groups both governmental and nongovernmental, as well as individual donors have been showing their support by providing necessities for the hostel and the boarders. The parishioners of Bundu Tuhan have also been generously supplying the home with vegetables and firewood. To date, many FSIC Sisters have come and gone monitory form and the home is well known to the public. Some people made the pledge to continue the donations. Sr. Maria Rani, FSIC, is currently helping out in the administration of the Don Bosco’s Children’s Home. There are 58 children staying in Don Bosco Home at the moment.
