Asrama Gereja St. James Tenghilan
Asrama Gereja St. James Tenghilan (AGSJT) is a secondary school hostel located next to St. James Church in Tenghilan, a village located some 45 minutes from the capital Kota Kinabalu. It has the capacity to accommodate 28 secondary school girls from interior and rural villages surrounding Tenghilan. AGSJT has been managed by Pusat Kebajikan Good Shepherd since 1992. The objective of this hostel is to provide educational opportunities to secondary school girls who come from families living in poverty and residing in remote villages with minimal access to secondary school education. Whilst staying at AGSJT, these secondary school girls, ranging from Form One to Upper Six, study at SMK Tenghilan, a 15-minute walk from the hostel. In selecting which girls to accept as residents, priority is given to families who are in dire need of financial assistance and who can’t find a place for their daughters to stay that is near to the school. Indeed, some of the girls are only able to afford a uniform and shoes when they arrive at the hostel. Most of the girls’ come from farming families and, on average, have at least five other siblings in need of support. 
At AGSJT, the girls learn about how to live and contribute to their own community. They make friends and study together, they learn about keeping their space clean and tidy, how to clean up after themselves, how to do housework and their own laundry. Learning sessions are conducted to teach them how to be good citizens – how to be responsible, how to interact and basic manners such as saying Thank You and Good Morning, behaviours that they might not learn at home.
The girls are also inculcated with a spirit of service to society in that they are called upon to do their part in helping others through the Aftercare Outreach Programme. This is where the girls visit a nearby target village and teach the younger primary children.
This environment is conducive to studying and learning a set of skills that will one day lead them to become independent and confident girls.
Contact details:Pusat Kebajikan Good Shepherd (Sabah)Ground Floor, Lot 25, Block E,Phase 2, Lrg Plaza Utama 1 Alamesra,Jalan Sulaiman,Kota Kinabalu,88400 Sabah.Tel:088-981102Fax:088-485373Email: sabah@pkgs.org.my