Volunteers build orang asli family a new home
SEMENYIH: For orang asli father of two Azrul Abu Anis, 21, owning a brand new home used to only be a dream.
Azrul, who does landscaping work and odd jobs for a living, had been staying in a dilapidated hut with his wife Anis Idi Ahmad, 19, and their children Shazwan, five, and Uli Yana, one.
Azrul’s wish for a new house became a reality when he received the keys to a brand new home built by 30 volunteers consisting of 24 students, five teachers and a parent from Sri KDU secondary school.
The volunteers spent three and a half days building a shelter for the family at Kampung Orang Asli Sungai Lalang here, about 42km from Kuala Lumpur.
The project was carried out from Thursday to Sunday morning by the Sri KDU ParentsTeachers Association (PTA) with service partner EPIC Homes, a social enterprise that mobilises volunteers to build homes for orang asli.
The school’s PTA president Shanti Muniandy said the project was carried out with the aim of enlightening the students, aged between 16 and 17, on the struggles of underprivileged communities such as the be orang asli.
“The objective was for the students to understand the struggle that many people face in meeting their basic needs.
“The students saw this and understood it throughout the project. They chatted with Azrul and mingled with the other orang asli as well.
“It was a fulfilling experience for them and it gave them tremendous joy to know that they had built a home with their own hands for an underprivileged family,” said Shanti.
The participants joined a oneday workshop before carrying out the project.
They were supervised by a master builder and eight specialists from EPIC Homes.
Azrul’s new house, which was painted a vibrant shade of white and blue by the participants, has three bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen and a verandah.