Responding to the teaching that God loves the world and cares for the poor, Methodist Pilley Institute (MPI) has started a support group ministry this year.

10% of the tuition fees collected from new intake will be allocated to support 140 poor students. In such sense, starting this year each new student will be involved in this ministry indirectly.

Currently MPI has three intakes each year; January, May and July.

These students are from: Community Learning Centre of Miri Gereja Methodist Tudan (40), Kuching Pusat Jagaan Kanak-Kanak (40) and Sibu Destiny Centre (60).

MPI’s Chairman Mr Chang Jih Ren launched the ministry during the 25th Anniversary Thanksgiving Service. He stressed that God loves the world, especially the disadvantaged groups. MPI as a church institution should play the role of caring for socially-disadvantaged groups which is the main reason for starting this ministry, he added.

This is a “break-the-vicious circle” program. A child born in a poor family may find it difficult to receive good education and in the growing-up process, there is may be a high probability that he may go astray. He may even be ill-prepared to start a new family and gets caught in the vicious cycle again.

MPI hopes the financial aid, to a certain extent, will help these students to get a better education therefore reducing the probability of turning astray, hence allowing them to break away from the vicious cycle to have better life.

To enable MPI students to be more involved in this ministry, the Institute encourages all student bodies to invite these poor students to their activities to develop a better relationship between the former and latter.

Reported by April Lu
Translated by Kt Chew