A move by a school for stateless children to install water tanks for the school has managed to provide water supply for an estimated 15,175 residents in three Sabah villages.
Volunteers at Sekolah Alternatif decided to install water tanks when they found it difficult to provide enough water for the children.
The schools operate in Kampung Hidayat, Tawau; Kampung Air Hujung, Semporna and Teluk Layan in Kota Kinabalu.
"These schools are built within communities. Therefore, we understand that each of the communities has their challenges and one of them was access to clean water sources," programme manager Wan Shakila Adiela Wan Azmi said.
The tanks were built with RM900 collected through an Instagram fundraiser in July.
The tanks were installed in stages, with installation finally completed last month.
Wan Shakila said the villages in Semporna and Tawau lacked water supply because the main pipe is not connected to their homes.
“The main pipe does not connect to our school so we had to connect additional pipes to our neighbours’ channel.
“In Tawau, water only comes on certain days. So, when there is water, we fill up the tank. Sometimes, our water comes from the rain,” she told Malaysiakini.
Relying on spring water
In Teluk Layan, the villagers relied on spring water far from the village, located within the vicinity of the Sabah state assembly.
“They wash their clothes there and also shower there. Although, it is not as far as it is still within the village, but they only have a single water source.”
Before the instalment of the water tank, villagers had to go to the spring to collect water using a pail.
“Our volunteers built a water catchment area. We connected the pipe from the water catchment to the tank. So, the villagers get their water from the tank now.”
Wan Shakila said the government should step up to provide regular clean water to the community.
The status of these homes, however, is unclear. In 2016, Utusan Borneo reported that the government demolished 79 homes in Teluk Layan, which were built without a permit on state land.
Wan Shakila said the government's decision not to recognise these villages have resulted in neglect.
“It goes back to the role of the government and their responsibility to provide facilities to the people,” she said.
Initiated by university students
Sekolah Alternatif is a programme initiated by the joint efforts of Kelab Sastera Mahasiswa (Karma) and Suara Mahasiswa Universiti Malaysia Sabah in providing education to undocumented children.
They make up Borneo Komrad, a movement advocating education, cultural preservation and human rights in Sabah.
Students of Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) have been visiting Teluk Layan to provide free lessons to the children there since 2016, but a school building for Sekolah Alternatif was only built in 2019.
Sekolah Alternatif in Semporna started in 2017 in a rented home in Kampung Air Hujung. Most of the students are from the nearby Kampung Bangau-bangau, Wan Syakila said.
In 2019, volunteers in Tawau started Sekolah Alternatif in Tawau under a garage. It now operates at the veranda of a villager who supports the effort.
Following the success of their water tank fundraiser, Sekolah Alternatif, which is completely volunteer-run and donor-funded, hopes to raise more funds to provide other facilities for the villages.
They are currently raising funds to upgrade the school in Tawau to accommodate more than 50 students. - Mkini
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