As we mark the end of another remarkable school year, I find myself reflecting on what an extraordinary privilege it has been to serve as Principal of THINK Global School. When I stepped into this role, I was immediately struck by the warmth of the community. From my very first days, I felt welcomed, supported, and embraced by its students, families, staff, alums, and Board. And for that, I am...
Read MoreImagine hiking for one and a half hours under a blazing hot sun in a completely unfamiliar environment, surrounded by a rainforest so dense that every step feels like entering a new world. Your eyes are glued to bizarre plants and colorful insects you’ve never seen before. You sweat through every layer of your clothes, finally reach camp, and hit the sudden realization: your phone is locked hours away, your internet access is nonexistent, and your bed for the next six days is a single hammock suspended under an unpredictable canopy. There is no Wi-Fi, no signal, and zero chance of opening ChatGPT to ask: “OMG ChatGPT, I’m in the middle of a forest, what do I do?!”
Without a clock or a weather forecast, every sight, sound, and sudden downpour forces you into the present moment. But as the initial panic of being disconnected wears off, the digital noise fades. Constant notification pings are replaced by birdsong, insect chatter, and rustling leaves. Suddenly, your mind feels wide open. During our THINK Global School (TGS) Rite of Passage (ROP) deep in the Kiulu wilderness, we cooked over open campfires, slept under the forest canopy, and became an inseparable team in less than a week.
Outreach Borneo
This off-grid journey tested our physical limits, but the real plot twist was connecting with the local people of Kiulu. Sitting down for eye-opening conversations about their daily lives made me realize that our rugged little wilderness detox was actually plugged into a massive, community-led economic revolution spearheaded by Outreach Borneo.
At the center of this movement is Director June. Originally from the mountainous region of Sabah, June spent years traveling as an international outdoor instructor in Hong Kong, Dubai, and Vietnam, where she was inspired by community models that used travel to empower local people. Returning home, she noticed a devastating trend: rural villages were suffering from an “older generation gap” as youth fled to big cities for work, leaving traditions and oral histories to fade.
Determined to rewrite this story, June co-founded Outreach Borneo with her business partner Mejin, launching in 2014 and formally establishing the company in 2018. June is the ultimate definition of hands-on leadership. On any given day, she seamlessly shifts from managing global sales, promotions, and office operations to guiding field tours and cooking hearty village meals over an open campfire.
The 75/25 Model
Unlike traditional travel agencies that often take wealth away from host destinations, Outreach Borneo takes a different approach with a cooperative profit model.
- 75% to Host Villages: Three-quarters of all profits are returned to the local communities. Villagers are employed as professional guides, drivers, cultural performers, cooks, and hosts. Additionally, fresh produce is purchased directly from local farmers at the full asking price, without any haggling.
- 25% Retained by the Company: The remaining quarter covers team salaries, staff employment, facility upkeep, and essential operational costs.
This financial framework creates a massive systemic glow-up. When state authorities noticed a consistent flow of international travelers visiting remote communities, they fast-tracked public funding, resulting in paved concrete pathways, repaired bridges, and new mobile towers. To date, three of the seven rural communities mentored by June and her team are fully self-sustaining and independent.
Meet Our Operations Guide, Swani
For local youth, working with Outreach Borneo acts as a VIP pass to global connection. Take Swani, an operations guide from Keningau (a Sabah town famous for its iconic black coffee). Swani started as an intern for two years, transitioned to part-time work, and is now a permanent, full-time guide. Her favorite part of the gig is exchanging life stories with international travelers and sharing Sabah’s culture.
Despite not being her first language and initially finding it challenging to handle specific guest requests, Swani transformed her daily guiding into a practical language lab. She approached every conversation with a guest as an opportunity to practice and enhance her language skills, eventually becoming an exceptional cross-cultural guide.
Conclusion
My time in the Kiulu jungle taught me that true travel goes beyond capturing perfect, picture-perfect photos for social media. It’s about adapting to unexpected situations and ensuring that your presence genuinely contributes positively to the community that welcomes you.
A reflection from my fellow student Lara K:
“Giving up our phones for six days in the Kiulu jungle was the absolute best way to kick off TGS. Sleeping in hammocks truly pushed us to bond with one another. What made the experience stick with me, though, was the sheer passion, professionalism, and warmth of our hosts at Outreach Borneo. They encouraged us to step outside our comfort zones, turning what could have been a basic trip into a lesson in teamwork and grit. By the end, we felt tighter than ever, a real, lasting community.”
Trading 5G bars for Borneo’s lush forest canopy turns out to be the ultimate move. The genuine human connections you make offline easily beat any cell signal you’ll ever catch on a screen.