Student survivors of Sabah quake awarded for their bravery

SINGAPORE — Some five months after an earthquake in Sabah claimed the lives of seven Tanjong Katong Primary School (TKPS) students and two teachers while they were on an overseas expedition, Primary 6 student Leong Wan Ting continues to feel the void left behind by her classmates at school.

The 12-year-old, who recently completed her Primary School Leaving Examinations (PSLE), was one of the 29 students who were trekking on Mount Kinabalu as part of the school’s Omega Challenge leadership programme, when a 5.9-magnitude earthquake struck on June 5. An adventure guide accompanying the group also died. 

Recalling how she used to “secretly talk to” her classmates during lessons, Wan Ting said: “During class, I would turn to talk to them but then realise they are not there. It’s kind of heartbreaking (and) I’ll (get) distracted for quite a while.”

“Sometimes, I cannot hear what my teachers are saying because all the memories are flooding (into my head) so I cannot catch up in class,” she added. 

But the netballer eventually got through the examinations with her friends’ help and after-school meetings with the teachers. 

Her schoolmate Jayden Francis, 12, will be relocating to Australia at the end of the year. Jayden’s father, Mr Dannie Francis, 56, said the incident was one of the factors that prompted the move. “(It has been) a fairly tumultuous year,” said Mr Francis, an executive. 

Apart from receiving weekly counselling at school, Mr Francis said he had to sleep with his son in the latter’s bedroom for a few months to rebuild Jayden’s sense of security. They also plan to return to Mount Kinabalu next June, along with the other parents and students, to pay their respects to the deceased students.

Twenty-one of the 22 surviving students were today (Nov 19) presented with a special Braveheart Award from the school to recognise the courage and resilience they showed. The remaining student was absent. The families of the seven students who died have also been given the award on their children’s behalf. The students were given a standing ovation by more than 300 attendees in the school hall when they took to the stage today.

Speaking during the ceremony, principal Caroline Wu said: “In the crisis situation that ensued, they had conducted themselves commendably, displayed their individual strengths and determination, and teamwork among themselves and their teachers.”

The awards were presented by Parliamentary Secretary for Education and Social and Family Development Associate Professor Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim. Earlier this month, 16 individuals who led the TKPS students on the trip, including the five who lost their lives, were bestowed Commendation Medals at the National Day Investiture. 

Apart from having to bear the psychological weight of what happened, Prajesh Dhimant Patel, 12, also had to physically recover from his injuries in time for the PSLE. The hockey player was hospitalised and discharged only around mid-July. “During recess, most of my friends would be playing soccer, but I could not play yet so I would be alone on the bench,” said Prajesh, who had to undergo therapy for speech and walking.

He is also unsure if he will join the others on the trip to Mount Kinabula next year as he is scared that the quake could strike again. But he might change his mind, adding: “I want to show people that I have the courage.”

Asked about the future of the Omega Challenge, Mrs Wu said the programme is a key one for leadership training. "Hence, we will continue with the Omega Challenge for 2016 for our student and CCA leaders, except that it would not be in the format of climbing Mt Kinabalu, but conducted in a way which retains the true spirit of programme," she said.