|
In June 2016, I visited Borneo with the objective of helping local communities as well as experiencing a different culture. We were located in the Sabah region of Borneo where we spent all of our time.
We arrived in Brunei, Borneo and then travelled to Kota Kinabalu in Sabah where we spent the first few days climbing Borneo’s second largest mountain: Mt. Trus Madi. |
|
Emma with Father Vincent Curtis, parish priest to St Edmunds Catholic Church in Calne and Hubert Dias, who also presented a bursary to Emma from the Catenian Association
|
This was a very challenging time for my team and it required much determination and group effort; which arguably helped prepare us for our group project.
The project itself was based in Kudat, also known as the tip of Borneo. The owner of the ranch that we lodged in is in charge of these projects, where schools from abroad would come to help develop aspects relating to local communities. He also directly helped out the residents of the village, for example, by re-building people’s homes and community facilities. The overall project was split into three sections: We began to build a fence around the local Catholic church, as there is a fast road located outside the church building and this had been the cause of many accidents involving children running into the road and being injured. This fence was thus especially important, because children would often attend little clubs set up by the locals at the church, making this a busy and important community hub. We spent three days working on the fence. This was a rather enduring project; as we worked fully clothed (to avoid mosquitoes) in temperatures as high as 45 degrees. The process begun by digging approximately one metre deep holes, which were 30 centimetres diameter, to be filled with concrete in order to ensure that the steel fence poles would be secure. We then collected the steel poles, which involved a fatiguing two-mile walk there and back from the materials yard to the church. This took up most of the first day. More here... |
Registered charity numbers: Advancement in Life 278477. Relief in Need 205038. Almshouses 205037.