On the bright clear morning of 16th September 2012, long before the ground breaking ceremony at 11.30 am, people from the surrounding villages of Sook arrived at the Church of Christ the King in Tulid. About 200 villagers and Good Shepherd Partners had gathered that morning to attend their usual Sunday Mass before witnessing the ground breaking ceremony beside the Mission House in the church compound.

16th September was also Malaysia Day so there was a festive atmosphere as the flags of Sabah and Malaysia were solemnly raised after Mass in front of the church. The state and national anthems were sung before all proceeded to the ground breaking site.
Beneath an open tent specially erected for the occasion, Sr Patricia Barasik, Good Shepherd Sister who heads the rural community project in Tulid, welcomed all to witness the simple but very inspiring ground breaking ceremony. After a short introductory prayer, Fr. Benedict Daulis, the parish priest, began by sprinkling holy water along the fence that marked the site for construction. As the blessing was going on, a candle was lit in a little nearby grotto where there was a beautiful statue of Our Lady surrounded by a neat garden. Our dear Mother Mary is always there to care for all those in need and who seek her perpetual help.

After Fr Benedict had blessed the ground, there was a unique planting ceremony. Representatives of the different partnering agencies and village people were invited to grow a plant each with their spades. Among them were Fr Benedict, the Parish Chairman and community leaders. Richard Liew represented Sabah Credit Corporation and Lydia was from World Vision Malaysia. Chin Poh Choo represented Pusat Kebajikan Good Shepherd and Sr Sandra planted on behalf of the Good Shepherd Sisters.

The four types of plants that were grown were very symbolic. Sr Patricia explained the choice of these plants in relation to the local community at Tulid:

The lime plants produce fruits that increase the tastiness of food and refreshes when used in drinks. The lime symbolises God’s Love that always renews our life’s journey as one community.
The chilli plants produce fruits which not only increase our appetite but the chilli taste lingers on. As one community, our faith and mission is from God who is always inviting us to follow Him and His faithfulness is unending.
The “tuhau” and “bunga kantan” give a lovely fragrance. They provide food and traditional medicine. These plants symbolise the gifts and talents that God has bestowed on all of us. All these blessings from God are to be shared in community as we participate in the programmes that will be carried out.
Just as all the above plants are unique and have their own distinctive qualities, so also are all those in our community that are made up of various ethnic groups of different ages and blessed by God with many and various aptitudes and qualities to build a community of faith, a community that is spiritual, healthy and sociably responsible. May this planting ceremony be a reminder to us to be always united in building our community.
Service Support Centre

As explained by Ms. Chin Poh Choo, Director of Pusat Kebajikan Good Shepherd in Sabah, the ground breaking is for the construction of a Community Service Centre cum staff quarters. This Centre will be a gathering point for the rural community. It will provide counselling services, life skills programmes, information and career guidance particularly to hundreds of students from Tulid. After school learning programmes for children will be conducted by the youth from the local community on a weekly basis. Included in the planning is to allocate a space for a small cooperative that will be managed by some women from the community. Besides, the Centre will also be a transit point or temporary shelter for women or girls who require a safe place for the interim.

Besides allowing the construction of the Service Centre in the parish ground, the Bishop of Keningau Diocese, Rt Rev Datuk Cornelius Piong, has offered the use of a piece of vacant land for the community to use as an agricultural micro enterprise project.

Background

In 2011, the YouthPREPLink introduced its programme to Kampung Tulid.

Involvement in this district of Sook in Keningau, was continued by Good Shepherd Rural Community Development programmes.

The project area encompassed four main villages in Mukim Tuild:

Kampung Delayan Baru – Children Learning Centre
Kampung Kiulu Baru – Youth Development Program
Kampung Pauh and Tulid Station – Women Empowerment Programme
Kampung Tulid – Socio-Economic Project
The above project commenced in January 2012 and is undertaken in partnership between Good Shepherd Rural Community Development, World Vision Malaysia and Sabah Credit Corporation.