Shera: 16 years old Stateless Child
Shera, a resilient 16-year-old living in Sandakan, Sabah, is a stateless child facing the challenges of belonging to no recognized nationality.
Hello, my name is Shera. I am 16 years old. My siblings and I live with my aunt. We stayed at my aunt's house because we no longer had a mother, so we were told to live with them.
I thought, I must have an education. I was once met by two NGOs, they asked me, what is my name? People keep asking me, do I want to go to school? I kept asking what school is. People then told me to study ABC. I then called one of my friends. I said this is my friend, his name is Adzhar.
Today, I have been studying in Cahaya Learning Centre (CLC) for 5 years now. And present day, I have become an Alumni. I am also grateful to Cahaya Learning Centre (CLC) for accepting me as a student, and I like studying mathematics the most. Why do I enjoy it? Because I used to be bad at counting, and now I know what my rights are to myself and my family as long as I study at there. Maybe if I did not study there, I would most likely be fooled by people out there.
(Bajau/Native Language)
Salam, onku Shera. Umulku 16 tahun . Aku maka siali ku patannak malumah Mak Cik ku. Kami patannak malumah Mak Cik ku angai kami patannak malumah Mak Cik ku sabab inak kami alam niyah na, jadi kami pun patannak malumah Mak Cik ku, aku magfikir aku supaya aku niyah pendidikan, aku pernah magjumpa maka dua ai'a NGO sigam nilau maka aku, sa'yan onku? Terus sigam nilau maka aku, bilahika iskul? Aku pun nilau iskul a'yan terus sigam bissalah, massa ABC. Aku pun ngolang sehek ku.
Aku pun bissalah na itu sehek ku, on na Adzhar aku pun iskul na mihigie sampai na sekarang 5 tahun na. Sekarang aku tu jadi na Alumni, aku pun magsukul maka CLC sabab ngak aku sabagai seorang murid dan aku tu paling bilahi belajar Matematik. Angai aku bilahi? Sabab dulu aku tu ambal pandai mengira. Sampai na sekarang tu aku tahu na a'yan hak ku ke atas diri ku sendiri maka keluarga ku selama aku ma CLC. Mungkin kalau aku ambal iskul mihigie kemungkinan besar aku tu nie kasih bodoh-bodoh maka manusia ma luas mihigie.