Sabah Trip cont.: The Lost Boys

Bright Kids
The kids who followed us around were bright, curious, and totally unreserved. They peppered us with questions: why are you here? what do you want to see? where are you from?

And they acted like little guides, telling us which way to go, which way to avoid, and be careful of the rotting steps. Having them around certainly made me feel safer, like we had the inside track to the village.

They were also clean and nicely dressed. Was I surprised? Yeah a little. They lived in obvious poverty, but appeared well taken care of.

Education
At first they told me they went to school, but after we've walked around a bit and talked more, they revealed that they actually didn't go to school. This did surprise me. Malaysia has virtually free schooling for all citizens, primary and middle school. Perhaps they weren't citizens? I didn't ask.

One boy, with dramatically intense eyes, seemed the most... angry I suppose, that they didn't get any schooling.

But another boy told me cheerfully that they were home schooled. They could read and write.

Who teaches you? I asked. My sister, he said. That made me feel a little better for them.

Harsh Reality
It is sad really. They were beautiful, bright kids. In another environment and life, they would have had so much more opportunities. Here, they were destined to follow their parents into a life of hard labor, or worse, crime.

I hoped they wouldn't.

There are a lot of aid agencies in the world, but some pockets of need are still left unattended. Did I have a rush of impulse to help them? Yes. But aid needs commitment, and is not to be taken lightly, a commitment that I wasn't able to give right then.

All I can say is, thank you boys, for showing us around. We had a great time talking with you. (to be continued...)