7th Ora Et Labora Run in Kuching draws over 1,400 participants

KUCHING (Oct 7): More than 1,400 people participated in the 7th Ora Et Labora Run organised by the Old Josephians’ Association (OJA) Kuching last Saturday.

Themed “Once a Josephian, Always a Josephian!”, the participants comprised students from St Joseph’s Family of Schools (which comprises SMK St Joseph, St Joseph’s Private School, St Joseph’s International School), alumni of the school and the public.

Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Dr Sim Kui Hian, who is also OJA president, was present to flag off the run.

Dr Sim, in his welcoming address, highlighted that St Joseph’s School has a proud history of producing outstanding students who are prominent professionals such as engineers, lawyers, accountants, entrepreneurs and even politicians, contributing to Sarawak’s nation-building.

He noted that they include four out of six Chief Ministers/Premier of Sarawak who are proud alumni of St Joseph’s School.

He also pointed out the school’s legacy of talent development and leadership extends far beyond Malaysia’s 61-year history — it dates back to when the school first established with just 20 boys in 1882.

Regarding the run, he applauded the three schools and alumni for coming together to participate after having been involved in the Back to School Games held the previous day.

“In St Joseph’s Family of Schools, we have three schools in it together namely SMK St Joseph, St Joseph’s Private School and St Joseph’s International School.

“This is unique and only in Sarawak do we have this kind of setup where we have SMK St Joseph being a government-aided school, while St Joseph’s Private School and St Joseph’s International School are both private schools.

“The three schools come together and participate in many activities together,” he said.

Also present were Kuching South Mayor and St Joseph’s School alumni member Datuk Wee Hong Seng and OJA’s honorary secretary Louis Ng.

The main objective of the OJA in organising the Ora Et Labora Run was to raise funds for students’ extracurricular activities.

Additionally, the run served as a reunion for ex-students and as an opportunity to render service to their alma mater.

The event was divided into the 1.4km Walk, 5km Fun Run and 10km competitive run with two Open Categories for the men and women.

In the men’s open category, Tan Xian Wen took the first prize and walked away with RM350 cash, while both Mohammad Amirul and Muhamad Airell Danish came in second and third place, walking away with RM250 and RM200 cash, respectively.

In the women’s open category, Cherynna Corey Chin took the first prize and walked away with RM350 cash, while both Chopard Gwendolyn Su-Jean and Amber Tiong came in second and third place, walking away with RM250 and RM200 cash, respectively.