CHRISTINA Thomas Mamora prays daily in a gentle yet assuring voice, seeking strength despite the challenges she has to constantly face. Often stepping out of the routine, she indulges in prayer for people nearby. With the strength she can muster, she continues to live each day, hopeful for herself and the people she cares for.
Christina was a woman of many talents and roles, leaving a lasting impact in each endeavour. From broadcasting and organising beauty pageants to writing prolifically and running a restaurant, she also embraced the roles of mother, daughter, marketer, and caregiver. Through it all, she approached each challenge with unwavering faith, constantly seeking divine strength to persevere.
Despite facing a second battle with breast cancer, Christina refuses to be defined by her illness. She courageously balances her role as a patient with her passions: caring for others and pursuing her writing.
Even during chemotherapy, she utilises her journalistic skills, connecting with fellow patients and gathering stories. When not at the hospital, she dedicates herself to caring for her bedridden son as a result of a stroke.
Reflecting on her experiences, Christina acknowledges the hardships she’s faced but emphasises the importance of maintaining a positive outlook, recognising that life’s difficulties are not permanent.
Life in the media
The 68-year-old writer, launching into her story, prompted me to choose a starting point, hinting at her extensive experience in the media. She playfully admitted to being a mischievous student, despite managing to perform well academically.
Language, she explained, always held a special allure for her, with both English and Bahasa Melayu captivating her imagination. History was another passion, fuelled by her love of reading, although she confessed to cutting corners on homework. Despite her last-minute studying habits and aversion to Geography, she excelled in exams. While a bit of a mischief in her youth, Christina matured into a more disciplined adult, particularly in her dedication to reading.
Christina harboured a lifelong dream of becoming a journalist, but lacking formal training options in her hometown of Kuching, she opted for a shorthand course. This led to a broadcasting career at Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM), where she notably hosted the Bintang RTM Sarawak from its inception and later, the Asia Pacific Film Festival when the international event was first held in Kuching.
Simultaneously, she honed her writing skills as a freelancer for Malay and English newspapers, viewing writing as a stimulating challenge. A self-taught writer, Christina learned by studying the works of others and emphasised the importance of simply starting to write, regardless of initial quality. After about eight years in broadcasting, she transitioned to column writing and later, an advertising agency where she expanded her knowledge in marketing, advertising, and business negotiations, all while continuing to emcee events – a skill cultivated during her broadcasting career.
After several years away from her initial career, Christina ventured into the food and beverage world, fulfilling a dream by opening a restaurant on Rubber Road in Kuching. Partnering with a friend, she discovered a passion for creating and selling food. Unfortunately, the restaurant closed its doors after a year.
Reflecting on this experience, Christina emphasises the importance of continuous self-improvement. She believes that active involvement in projects fosters learning, but true growth requires a critical self-awareness and a persistent drive to surpass one’s current capabilities. Stagnation, she argues, is the antithesis of progress, and constant striving for betterment is essential.
Christina, reflecting on her life spanning nearly seven decades, considers her 30s to be a particularly fulfilling period. Buoyed by her energy and accumulated life experiences, she felt empowered to pursue ambitious projects. A prime example is the City Queen Beauty Pageant she organised to celebrate Kuching’s city status.
Drawing on her artistic talents, public speaking skills, and writing abilities, Christina successfully ran the month-long competition for five years. The pageant garnered significant media attention, secured sponsorships from prominent organisations, and received support from local councils, a testament to Christina and her team’s effective management and the skills she gained in her previous career. For Christina, her 30s were a time of youthful vigour and an ideal moment to turn dreams into reality.
Life as a caregiver
In her late 40s, Christina embraced the role of caregiver while simultaneously pursuing her writing career, even writing and designing books for the government like ‘Sarawak Women in the Civil Service’, ‘Sarawak Women in Politics – the Pioneers’ and more.
She dedicated herself to caring for her bedridden father, mother and mother-in-law, managing this demanding responsibility alongside her writing, often working late into the night to meet deadlines. Despite the challenges, she found joy in caring for her parents and turned to prayer for strength.
Viewing life as a balance between passion and duty, she created a vibrant home office filled with her favourite things – books, cameras and her collection of vintage sunglasses. After her parents passed away, she briefly explored Indonesia with her family.
Her son suffered a stroke just a couple of months later. Now spending more time at home to care for him, she finds joy in everyday moments, like wearing her nice clothes, enjoying short breaks browsing through books by her favourite authors or playing with her cameras.
Even while undergoing chemotherapy, Christina remains positive, offering support to others and embracing gratitude for life’s simple pleasures, determined to continue learning and living a meaningful life by doing what she can.
