Hope Place looks to light up village in time for Christmas
KUCHING: More than 140 villagers of Kampung Muk Ayun in Padawan are currently living without electricity and water supply, says Hope Place Kuching founder Kelvin Wan.
He said he learned of their plight when he was approached by village chief Taser Kunnut, who sought assistance from the non- governmental organisation ( NGO) to instal solar lights at the village.
“Taser is seeking for Hope Place’s assistance in installing solar lights that will benefit the villagers.
“Currently, they have generators but they (villagers) can only obtain diesel by travelling by boat to Bengoh dam and then, continuing on to purchase the fuel,” Wan said in a statement yesterday.
Wan said he and his group of volunteers recently visited Kampung Muk Ayun to survey the village for the solar lights installation.
It was there where he discovered that the village had a newly-built church, which took the villagers three years to build.
“They purchased the materials and built the church themselves. Just last week, the construction of the church finally reached completion – just in time for Christmas.
“They are hoping that the village could fi nally be installed with solar lights so that they could carry out many other activities at night,” he said.
In addition to the lack of electricity and water supply, Wan said Kampung Muk Ayun is also located in the interiors, making it difficult for students to go to school.
“I was informed that the nearest primary school from Kampung Muk Ayun is SK Bengoh, and the young children have to take a 20minute boat ride to reach Bengoh dam and from there, board a van to head to their school.
“For secondary school students, they have to take an hour’s journey by van to reach SMK Siburan from Bengoh dam.
“We can imagine how difficult it is for them to go to school, especially during the monsoon season.”
Hope Place currently supports more than 180 families by contributing to them essential food items like rice, cooking oil, sugar, salt, biscuits and noodles.
The NGO carries out its deliveries once every three months because of the many families on its list of recipients, who comprise those with disabilities, single mothers with young dependents, abandoned senior citizens as well as those who earn less than RM500 a month.
For more information, Hope Place can be reached via its hotline at 013- 567 2775 or office number 082- 505 987 between 8.30am and noon, and 2pm to 5pm ( Mondays to Fridays); and 9am to noon on Saturdays.