Student film on firecracker danger a hands-down winner

MIRI: The increasing number of children being injured, or losing their hands, when playing with firecrackers compelled some students from Sarawak to raise awareness about the dangers of firecrackers.

Michael Nyamun, 11, with three schoolmates from SK Long Sepiling in Baram, created a short video to highlight the growing problem among children.

Their five-minute video, titled Marung Asu: The Power of Hands, won the Best Storytelling Award at the Kid Witness News (KWN) Global Summit 2017 in Tokyo recently.

Michael said they created the video to remind children that their hands were a gift from God.

“The idea came about when we were preparing to shoot the video during Hari Raya last year.

“It is really disturbing to read news about children losing their hands, and in some cases, having their hands amputated, from fireworks accidents,” said Michael.

He proposed the idea to their teacher-adviser before filming started.

“We are gifted with hands but many take them for granted. Some even risk playing with dangerous items and only realise the importance of their hands after losing them.

“Thus, we decided to highlight how we should appreciate our hands and do good deeds instead,” he said.

He and Fiona Fredick, 12, Juwita Ulean, 12, and Anilov Fabien Tingang, 13, who are now in secondary school, represented Malaysia in the competition, which saw 18 teams from around the world participating.

Fiona said although the video shoot was tough and tiring, it was an interesting experience.

“We put so much effort into the process as we wanted to win. It wasn’t just about trying our luck. We wanted to bring something home.”

Juwita said her parents didn’t believe her when she told them of the team’s victory.

“They thought I was pulling their leg.

“I had to go back to school and ask my teacher to inform my parents. Only then did they believe me.”