The Mill Hill Brothers

As far as I know there are only four "orang putihs" living in the mountain area.There is of course Emily and I who are very much the newcomers and about to celebrate two years in Sabah in 5 days time. Marlis, a German lady in her 70's who came out as a Maths and Science teacher with the Peace Corps in the 1980's and came back to retire here and Brother Ben who I only know by reputation. Brother Ben is Dutch and is a Mill Hill Brother and is the only one left in Sabah now, but I do know that he has been a huge influence and inspiration to many people. He is between 80-90 years old (I expect he knows but no one else does) and still works running the orphanage in Bundu Tuhan, the village that Sister Caroline's family come from which is perched on the side of the mountain close to the National Park of Mount Kinabalu.

Saturday Morning market in Ranau

  Sister Caroline had no idea why they were called the Mill Hill Brothers but she remembers as a very young girl, the Mill Hill Brothers living in their village and building a church which was to become her local school, before they built the Mission School. A little internet search led me to the Mill Hill Missionaries which is an international organisation of Catholic missionaries founded in 1866 and  based in Mill Hill, London until 2006, but continues to this day. The first wave of missionaries arrived on Sabah's shores in the 1880's and I can only try to imagine what it must have been like for them, bearing in mind that roads are very recent and head-hunting was still common practice and Sister Caroline still remembers celebrating the Festival of Skulls and the hut where the skulls were kept in her village! Perseverance and incredible faith kept small numbers of Brothers arriving and then later some Sisters as well and in 1956 a small Christian settlement was formed in Bundu Tuhan which according to Sister Caroline was chosen because of the amazing view and I suspect it's cool climate.. The Brothers and Sisters brought many skills with them and taught carpentry and vegetable gardening as well as teaching the villagers to read and write. They brought with them seeds from Europe and introduced some weird and wonderful fruit and vegetables that are still grown today such as tomatoes, potatoes, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, asparagus and even strawberries! The area around Bundu Tuhan is known as the vegetable basket of Malaysia and exports all over Malaysia.

  In 1972 an Islamic Party won the election in Sabah and the Chief Minister who feared that these Christians might influence his power decided to deport all of the "orang putihs". This was a very traumatic time for the Catholics in Sabah and there are many stories that are recounted about the hiding of the priests and brothers, trying to protect them from the authorities. These white men were revered and respected by their parishioners and the thought of losing them was utterly devastating. However after many adventures of hiding in the jungle, they were urged by their Bishop to give themselves up and Sister Caroline and family will never forget the terrible day of mourning when all the the Brothers were put into a truck and thrown into prison and deported. Except Brother Ben who by that time had become a Malaysian citizen so they couldn't arrest him. Sister Caroline remembers the terrible void in the village after they all left  - she said they were chicks without their mother hen - but it was also then that the villagers  had to grow up and take responsibility of their own church and religion. Even though Sister Caroline was still a young girl there is no doubt that the influence of the Mill Hill Brothers changed her life.

  So Brother Ben continues to live in Bundu Tuhan surrounded by people like Sister Caroline's family who adore him. He speaks like a local and eats local food which everyone marvels over and I am hoping that I may have the pleasure of meeting him before I leave. Now there is someone with a story to tell!