Jojo at school
By Jennifer Julius
July 18 2020
JOACHIM, nicknamed Jojo, 5, did not allow the Movement Control Order (MCO) to cast a shadow in his young life even though he was forced to stay at home. Though under partial lockdown, Jojo makes a difference to enrich himself and his family.
As one of the measures to contain the spread of the COVID-19, the Malaysian government implemented the MCO throughout the country from March 18. By July, the nation has entered into the recovery phase of the lockdown.
Jojo, who hails from Kg Menawo Laut, Keningau, was born with a cleft palate and cleft lip which has rendered him a rather delayed speech development. The commitment to correct the birth defects has paid off. A series of surgery repaired the palate and helped improve speech by the age of three.
At the time of the unpredicted MCO, Jojo has already achieved normal appearance, speech and eating. He has enrolled for kindergarten in early January 2020 but his school was shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jojo was keenly observing the unusual phenomenon of the adult members “conducting a prayer meeting” within the family, while being confined at home during the MCO. He has been ‘a part of the adult prayer meeting’ since three years old for as when his grandparents attended these meetings organized by the ‘KUK’ in their village, they always have him in tow. .
Meanwhile, to ease his boredom, his elderly caretakers made a providential and wise decision to connect him to a parish radio program named Cahaya Kinabalu run by Fr Nicholas Stephen from St Peter Claver Ranau, under the segment ‘Ruangan Anak-Anak Bersama Fr Nick’ (Children Section with Fr Nick). He grew by leaps and bounds in learning how to pray and in getting to know his Catholic faith.
The happy end to the story: Jojo becomes adept in praying the ‘Bapa Kami’, the ‘Salam Maria’ and the ‘Kemuliaan’ (Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be prayers). To the surprise of the adults, he ventured to offer to lead the adults in their daily evening Rosary prayer and sing the ‘Salam Maria’ prayer! He was so enthusiastic with his know-how-to-pray, that for prayer before meal, he chips in with the ‘Bapa Kami’!
Thanks be to God for His intervention of healing and rectification of Jojo’s birth defects – Jojo’s ability to pronounce his words clear enough attests to how we should put our faith and trust in God, especially in the trials of our life. However, yearly reviews with dentist, speech therapist and plastic surgeon are still ongoing. When he reaches eight years old, he will be ready for teeth correction procedure, which will last until he is 18 years old.
