PENAMPANG – On the eve of Malaysia Day, 36-year-old odd job worker Juraimi Ahmad and his neighbours saw their houses in Kg Sugud swept away by mudfloods, leaving them homeless and left with just the clothes on their backs.
He faced the prospect of rebuilding his home, saying he would probably be salvaging wood, zinc, and other debris to do so.
However, during his eight days’ stay at his temporary shelter, Juraimi jumped for joy when Osimal Foundation chairman and former chief justice Tun Richard Malanjum offered to rebuild his house.
“Rebuilding would have taken me months. I don’t have the money nor the resources to rebuild.
“I immediately said yes. The next day, workers and contractors came over to drop off the materials and started work the day after. By day 10, my house was completed.”
Juraimi said his family was able to move in a couple of days after and had been staying in the house for more than a month now.
Recalling the day he lost his home, Juraimi said he was at work in Hungab, also in Penampang, when he received a text message from his wife, saying that water in a nearby river had overflowed.
“Out of worry, I rushed home and by the time I reached close to Sugud, the area was already flooded.”
Juraimi could only wonder at the time if his wife and three children were safe, and was relieved to know that they were at a relative’s house nearby.
He is one of four heads of families who had lost their homes and benefited from the foundation’s work.
Gone in seven minutes
Another beneficiary, Maidol Paulim, 68, said his house was gone in seven minutes that day.
“I was really glad when Tun came over and offered to rebuild our house. It was done in eight days,” he said.
Maidol said he would have never been able to raise the funds needed to rebuild, adding that all four of his children are still in school and his wife only works as a cleaner.
He is also a welfare aid recipient who lost his left leg while cutting timber some years ago.
Maidol was also given furniture, including a refrigerator and a sofa, a kitchen, and a monthly food stipend.
More houses to be ready soon, says Malanjum
Malanjum said the Osimal Foundation was able to help these families with the help of donors, adding that the bulk of them are from Peninsular Malaysia.
He also said the foundation provided some 300 Sugud villagers a gravity-feed water system after the mudfloods.
Houses for two more recipients are underway as the families have to resolve land matters before the houses can be built.
So far, the foundation has built three hostels – one each in Kg Buayan, Kg Longkogungan, and Kg Matanggal in Paitan.
He said schoolchildren in the three villages sometimes don’t show up for classes due to the distance they have to travel.
“Osimal also sponsored three university students from poor families, and provided meals for schoolchildren in Papar and Membakut.”
Meanwhile, the foundation had its first intake of students at its Kaiduan Agriculture training centre in Papar.
“We want them to become agropreneurs once they complete their course. We will also provide them with seed money and will follow up with their progress until they are capable of doing it on their own.”
Malanjum said one of the goals of the training centre is to end youth migration to the cities, as retention can result in the rural areas seeing development. – The Vibes, November 17, 2021
