Venturers

caked with dried mud on the balcony’s floor, and I begin to wonder about the conditions and challenges the boots owners could have gone through.

The house is peculiarly named Sally’s Coop by the venturers, and I’m told that its owner generously moved out so as to give the venturers a place to stay throughout the continuation of the programme.

Eager to show the results of their weeks of hard work, the venturers lead me and the rest Carrying supplies and materials to the project site.

An adorable Dusun infant.j

of the visiting group into the nearby jungle, walking through a shallow river.

Working with the villagers, it is here that the Raleigh Borneo volunteers have constructed two dams at a water source, as well as a gravity fed water system that now provides Kampung Pandan with a regular supply of clean water for cooking, washing, bathing and general cleaning.

Furthermore, much of the village did

The Raleigh Borneo management team on the way to visit the volunteers. not have adequate sanitation and so the Raleigh volunteers built three toilets which also receive water, as well as tippy taps low-cost, simple and effective handwashing stations made using some wood, a piece of string, and a bottle — which only use a small amount of water.

Kadri Taib, Coca-Cola Malaysia’s public affairs and communications director looks visibly pleased and touched by all the hard work done by the volunteers.

Having been involved with the “Clean Water for Communities” since its inception in 2006, Kadri has seen his fair share of the communities improved by this endeavour.

“It never gets tiring when you see the results,” says Kadri, adding: “Coca-Cola intends to return to the communities and nature an amount of water equivalent to what is used in its beverages and production by 2020.

“We are working toward water balance through diverse, locally focused community water projects and one of the ways we are doing so is by improving safe access to water and sanitation, which also helps to improve local livelihoods, help communities adapt to climate change and improve water quality.”

LONG-TERM POSITIVE CHANGE

During their stay, the Raleigh volunteers, aged between 17 and 24 from Britain, Australia, South Africa, Spain, Bangladesh, Poland, Bermuda and France, also hold informative sessions with the community on the importance of clean water and sanitation to prevent basic health issues caused by contaminated water with simple changes to their everyday hygiene and sanitation practices, while providing informal English lessons for the children.

After the visit to the completed projects, I sit down with one of the venturers, 19-yearold Rachel Calcott from South Africa. She is on a gap year, a sabbatical year she is spending travelling and working before continuing her academic studies.