Motivating the Orang Asli children to pray daily

May 13, 2016

By Bernard Anthony
A group of Catholics from Kuala Lumpur participated in an Outreach Programme to Orang Asli in Kg Chang Baru, some 15 minutes drive from Bidor Town, recently.

Upon arrival at the village, they were greeted by the Orang Asli, led by Junaina, the Kg Chang Baru Orang Asli BEC leader. Also present were Marvin Yacob, the Vice PPC leader from the Chapel of St Joseph, Bidor, together with Alice Jayamalai, who is the parish representative for the Orang Asli community.

Junaina welcomed the KL group and gave a short briefing on the history of the Orang Asli village. There are two villages adjacent to each other, one old and one new, which carries the same name. The Kg Chang Baru where the Chapel is situated (built in 2009 by Fr Charles Chin), has a population of 73 houses with 300 residents, the older one has 100 families with 400 people. Junaina said the Orang Asli professed different faiths, yet live peacefully. There are 43 Catholic families in Kg Chang Baru. Most of the adult Orang Asli work in the rubber estates and palm oil plantations, with a few working in town. Their children attend school in Bidor town. Mass is celebrated monthly.

Upon finding out that only 15 Orang Asli children regularly attend catechism, the KL group leader encouraged the children to put more effort in their prayer life and focus on Jesus. The group also urged them to use the 50 Prayer Booklets distributed to them, emphasizing the need to use it daily for prayers and to develop a closer relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ. The KL Group also presented to the head of each family a copy of YouCat in Bahasa Malaysia.

There was also a Prayer Session, in Bahasa Malaysia, led by the visitors in the chapel.

The KL group came armed with 300kg of provisions to be distributed to those in need, including the non- Catholic families. They also brought 10 school bags, stationery sets and workbooks for the children. All 43 families received an áng pow each, which was handed over by Marvin to Junaina.

The children were excited when two indoor games were played, with many walking away with T-shirts and books as prizes. They also received a soft toy, sweets and chocolates.

The KL group sang three religious hymns, and in return, the Orang Asli did the same. At the end of the Outreach, Junaina said the Closing Prayer in her native language (Semoi).

The KL Group members thanked Fr David Lourdes and his lay leaders for arranging their encounter with the Orang Asli and are planning to visit them again.