Giving rural kids a chance by building on their future

KUCHING: In Long Lamam, a remote Penan village deep in Sarawak’s Baram district, the new permanent home for Tadika Pawah is nearing completion after construction work started in July.

It’s the result of a project by Sarawak-based volunteer organisation Barefoot Mercy, which is run by Persatuan Perkembangan Pendidikan Orang Pribumi.

“When I first learned of the uncertainty of the Penan preschoolers’ education in 2014, it triggered a call to action for me,” said Anna Wee, co-founder of Barefoot Mercy, and one of the of Star Golden Hearts Award’s 10 winners this year.

“We donated solar lanterns and worked in rural Sarawak, so we had an understanding of the uphill task faced by the educators.”

She decided to assist the kinder- garten by running a child sponsorship campaign for the preschoolers and then launch the Kindy Project.

At RM2,400 per year for a child, the programme covers expenses for uniforms, books and school meals.

“I work predominantly at fund-raising, and also to source materials for the project.

“Our team makes trips to oversee progress on site and ensure work gets done while the architect team makes adjustments to the drawings.

“We all feel strongly that every child has a right to an education, particularly true for underprivileged children,” Wee said.

So far, the main school structure is complete. This is the first phase of the project.

The next phase will be converting the current preschool building into a boarding house to enable the children to remain in school when their

sharonling@thestar.com.my

We wanted to build something different in the community, with open spaces for them to gather in.

Elaine Chan