KOTA KINABALU: A RM2.5mil girls' hostel in semi-rural Tamparuli is expected to be commissioned and fully operational by the middle of this year.

       Some 200 rural poor students from remote villages in the Tamparuli and Kiulu areas were expected to benefit from this charity project undertaken jointly by the Rotary Club of Kota Kinabalu South and Helping in Eradication Lasting Poverty (HELP) Foundation.

       Rotary Kota Kinabalu South president Benjamin Chin said the Tamparuli Girls' Hostel at Kampung Bantayan would be the second operated by them after the St Maria Gorette Girls' Hostel in Sabah's interior Keningau was opened in 2000.

       "The hostel makes a difference for rural students who can continue their studies and have a bright future," he told a press conference held to announce the club's Charity Golf 2022 fundraising project on May 16 at the Dalit Golf and Country Club in Tuaran.

       Supporting the club in its charitable efforts was 2021 Unduk Ngadau (Harvest Festival Beauty Queen) Maya Hejnowska, who said such rural hostels would have an impact in keeping rural students in school.

       "There have been many cases of rural students dropping out," she said.

       Political secretary to the Chief Minister, Datuk Dr Roland Chia, said the Rotary Club projects were greatly appreciated by the state government which last year also contributed RM50,000 to the club's social programmes.

       Chin said the social work done in the past included medical outreach, helping those affected by the Covid-19 pandemic shutdowns, and the implementation of water supply projects in numerous villages.

       With the Tamparuli hostel project more or less completed, Chin said the funds raised in the golf tournament would be diverted to post-pandemic assistance for the people.

       Meanwhile, tournament organising chairman George Chong said there would be RM1mil worth of prizes to be won including RM100,000 cash, a Jesselton Twin Tower Condominium unit and a Volkswagon Arteon.