Tuesday 1 March 2016

There is light … finally

February 29, 2016, Monday Christopher Lau, reporters@theborneopost.com

Cutting bamboo stems for use as temporary electric poles, linking cables from the dam site to The kampung. — Photos courtesy of University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus.

IT has been months ago since I visited Kampung Sapit, an isolated village some 400 metres above sea level and accessible only via a narrow motorcycle path.

Perhaps, owing to its remoteness and an acute lack of basic infrastructures, the kampung is not connected to the main grid.
During my short two nights stay there, what impressed me most was neither how the villagers – young and old alike — made the 90 minutes hike to the kampung seem like a stroll in the park nor how cold a shower could get at dusk, but, oddly enough, a 14-year-old named Anthony.

It was my last night and the villagers were holding a small party. At the end, the usually playful and perky village boy lamented: “It’s so cold and dark tonight – it will be rough heading back to my house.”

At that moment, I was sort of out for words. As a city boy used to enjoying round-the-clock electricity and most other amenities urbanites take for granted, I have never thought a five-minute walk home could amount to a struggle. But for little Anthony, reaching home meant walking down a pathless hillock and crossing a small bridge, held together by two bamboo stems, in the DARK!

I asked: “Did you bring a torchlight?”

Apparently stunned by my asking, he pointed to the full moon above:“That’s my light.”

Indeed, nights at this village, wedged between two mountain ranches, can be chilly and also pitch dark when some 60 Bidayuh families call it a night and turn off their costly diesel-powered generators, their only source of electricity.

However, it appears the dark clouds of deprivation have been blown away by the winds of change. I was informed recently little Anthony and the Kampung Sapit folk can finally look forward to running electricity supply and brighter nights as an non-governmental organisation —Engineers with Borders Malaysia (EWB) – has ventured into the village to build a micro-hydro generator.

“All this while, the villagers have been relying on generators for electricity, lasting only a few hours each day. One family needs to spend between RM600 and RM900 on diesel but those who cannot afford it have to turn to kerosene lamps,” explained PKR Mambong branch chairman Willie Mongin who was the main facilitator and co-sponsor for the project.

According to Willie, the micro-hydro generator, even as we speak, is producing up to 3 KVA of electricity, allowing each household to light up two to three light bulbs all day long. The villagers can also charge other low voltage electrical equipment during the day when light bulbs are not needed.

“During the commissioning of the project, we faced various obstacles and put in enormous effort but thank God, the hydro generator finally works,” said Willie.

A self-help project
The mini-dam that builds up water pressure from the nearby stream, was built by the villagers for the villagers. All building materials were carried from Kampung Parang (at the entrance of the only path to Kampung Sapit) to the construction site.

After the dam was completed, with the help of the EWB team, 2.5 kilometres of external aluminum cables were laid from the micro-hydro site to the village and 600 metres of piping connected from the dam to the generator unit.

Indeed, much sweat and toil has gone into the project.
“We tried our best to give whatever we could to the villagers but due to unforeseen events, we actually spent about RM80,000— much more than our initial budget. The cost included food and transportation. The facilitator personally met almost half of the cost while our sponsors covered the balance,” project manager Sanjiv Indran said.

Apart from the mini-dam project, volunteers from University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus (UMNC), Light Up Borneo (an NGO), EWB and Rural Expedition Aiding Community Health (REACH) had travelled from their hometowns across the country to further assist Kampung Sapit in areas such as education, health and waste management where the villagers are lagging seriously behind

Education

SK Kambug is a small boarding school in Upper Padawan, housing more than 100 pupils from the surrounding kampungs such as Sapit, Assum, Kampung Parang.

Shining a bit light on the pupils’ day, 29 UNMC students, dubbed the Notties, donated a mix of educational and story books to the school. On top of that, they prepared a comprehensive programme of fun and exciting educational activities to arouse the creativity, inventiveness and knowledge of hygiene among the cute hyperactive children.

To boost the children’s creativity and inventiveness, the Notties put together interactive games such as word puzzles and math quizzes, and taught the children how to extract DNA from bananas. The Notties, from different faculties of engineering, also showed the youngsters how to build a rubber-band car, using only a plastic bottle and rubber band.

As for basic hygiene, the Notties demonstrated to the children the proper ways of washing their hands and brushing their teeth. Free toothbrushes and toothpastes were distributed to remind the students to keep their smiles white!

“As teachers, we appreciate what they (Notties) are doing. It will motivate the pupils to practise cleanliness — and speak English as well,” said Joseph Gordon, an English teacher at the school for 11 years.
“Even with the warm weather, my students are still chanting ‘we are happy.’ This shows they are enjoying the exciting educational activities.

What the students have learnt in science and
maths will definitely help them to be more creative and innovative.”

Waste management

Sapit, Assum, Parang and the other kampungs in Upper Padawan are not covered by any waste management services.The villagers need to tend to their own waste by either burning it in their backyard or even neglecting it, at worst.

“During our 11-day stay in the area, the problem we identified is that the village has no proper system to maintain cleanliness,” noted Mohammad Ezmir, the Nottie Waste Management Team leader.

“But I’m glad the villagers know what their problem is — that burning plastic trash can release toxic fumes which are hazardous to health.”

During their stay, the volunteers held a gotong-royong with the villagers to clean up the kampung, collecting 10 bags of waste and 10 bags of recyclable materials for sale by the villagers.

To help resolve the waste disposal issue in Kampung Sapit, the Waste Management Team have imparted the basics to the villagers, and also come up with the novel idea that motorcycle owners in the kampung will help dispose of the trash whenever they head out to Kampung Parang via the only pathway in Kampung Sapit.

But from Kampung Parang to Kuching city, waste will be transferred by a villager who owns a lorry — a truly DIY (do-it-yourself) solution — although the villagers still cherish the hope that one day, waste management services will come in to provide a permanent solution.

Healthcare

During the last day of their short stint in the village, the Notties from the School of Pharmacy held a one-day screening for the kampung folk. Two medical doctors, one nurse and a dentist from REACH were on hand to assist.

The health screening included free Body Mass Index (BMI) measurement, blood pressure and blood glucose check-ups as well as urine and pregnancy tests.

If the tests returned abnormal results, the doctors would consult or even prescribe free medication, donated by private institutions.

“The flying doctor service is not doing enough here,” said Christina Jong who has29 years nursing experience.

“They fly in here only once a month and sometimes don’t even show up, depending on the weather. This has resulted in the villagers not having enough proper medication,” she noted.

Meanwhile, volunteer dental surgeon Dasera Raj observed that the villagers had poor oral health.

“I didn’t expect it to be this bad in a village just two hours from Kuching city. I would only expect it in places like Ulu Baram,” he said.

Indeed, this village, despite its relatively close proximity to the city, is lacking not only in healthcare but also proper waste management and connectivity. Small wonder, since it is virtually cut off from the outside, accessible, as it is, only via a decrepit five-foot wide motorcycle path.

But at least the villagers can cross out a major issue from their lingering worries. With 24-hour electricity supply, they no longer have to live in total darkness at night.

I commend all the volunteers and people involved for their big-hearted response to the plight of Kampung Sapit. At long last, dark nights for the kampung folk are a thing of the past. There is now light … finally.