KOTA KINABALU: He ran away from home when he was only 10 just so he could go to school. Today, Sarel Marikau is among the better students in his class and a recipient of the Petronas Education Assistance.
Sarel from the Kota Marudu district, some 120km from here, did not start school until four years ago when he managed to get away from home.
He got his break when he met a teacher who helped him enrol in SK Sungai Magandai.
“My parents and grandparents wanted me to stay in the village to help them toil their land,” Sarel, now 14, recalled.
Self-motivated: Sarel doing his homework in school.
“However, I've got bigger plans. I've always wanted to go to school.
“I ran away from home after meeting the teacher,” he said at the launch of Program Sentuhan Ilmu Petronas (PSIP) at Menara Petronas, here, recently.
