To mark International Women’s Day, I’m delighted that Gail Featherstone, the wife of the High Commissioner, has agreed to write a guest blog on the efforts of one woman to give underprivileged girls in Malaysia a genuine chance in life.
Earlier today, I visited the Home of Peace (HoP), a residential care home for girls of all ages from disadvantaged backgrounds run by Justine Morais, who has just been nominated as one of the 12 Most Inspiring Women in Malaysia. Justine is one of the most remarkable women I’ve ever met and I’m proud to call her a friend. ‘Auntie Dolly’, as the girls call her, is a woman of exceptional determination and intelligence, qualities which have helped to sustain her through years of dedicated, loving service to a group of needy and often difficult girls.
Inspired both by a sense of mission and the example of her own parents, her aim is to give the girls in her charge the same opportunities in life that she enjoyed. “Without a good education”, she told me, “there is, realistically, no future in this country for girls with their backgrounds”. Out of respect for individuals and their families, she draws a veil over precisely what those backgrounds are, but it is clear that abuse and extreme neglect are common themes.
Justine first started working with girls from slum areas almost 20 years ago but in 2005 felt the time was right to buy a residential home. The HoP is a large, brightly painted house in a good area. It incorporates a nursery school on the top floor where the younger girls study until they are ready to go to local Sekolah Kebangsaan (government run schools). Despite some help – both paid and voluntary – Justine still does the bulk of the childcare herself. Although she enjoys an understandably high reputation with the Malaysian Government’s Welfare Department, which refers children to her, she currently receives no government support. As a result, the home is funded entirely from charitable donations – a precarious existence at best.
The British High Commission in Kuala Lumpur has been actively involved with the HoP ever since a visiting Royal Navy ship asked the Defence Section to nominate a local charity in need of the services of a group of bored plumbers, electricians and engineers! That was in 2007 and we have been supporting the HoP, one way or another, ever since. As well as financial help and donations of toys, clothes and baby equipment, we try to involve the girls in community events such as our children’s Christmas party. (I must confess, though, that I was a little taken aback when I realised that even individual invitations to Justine have to include the girls. She is, after all, their main caregiver…A Carols Evening at the Residence? “Lovely! The girls love singing carols!” And so they do – all 16 of them – and have always been perfectly behaved!)
As the first person in my family ever to go to university, I feel very strongly about the value of educating women and I’m astounded and humbled by what Justine has already achieved in the lives of these precious youngsters. When I first met ‘Shanti’ last year, for example, she was an aggressive and almost uncontrollable three-year-old, demanding constant attention and unable to concentrate even for a few minutes. When I saw her today, by contrast, she was calmly colouring in shapes in her exercise book. She is coping well with nursery school and has started to attend ballet classes. She still likes to be the centre of attention, but these days she will usually do a pirouette instead of biting you!
Less dramatically, but equally impressively, just last week one of the older girls was interviewed on television on the subject of children’s rights. Justine told me what happened: “She was nervous but…answered her questions well – I thought she was so poised and confident!! Yeah! I am so, so proud of her – this is what HoP is all about – educating girls and empowering them…”
They have a wonderful role model.