Blessing of a new school in Kg Sekam

Oct 14, 2015

By Stephanie Yeap
Since the inception of St Michael’s Church’s (SMC) Sahabat Orang Asli (SOA) project in early 2014, the parish has cultivated a warm friendship and close rapport with the Orang Asli villagers of Kampung Sekam in Tapah/Cameron Highlands.

This friendship was further cemented with the recent collaboration between the parish team and the Orang Asli villagers on the construction of a new school at Kg Sekam. The construction cost was mainly sponsored by a generous SMC lady parishioner. Furnishing costs were borne by several SMC groups and individuals such as The Padre Pio Group who donated the generator for the school.

Construction was supervised by the parish’s survey and mobilisation team headed by Hubert Thong and took place over three months. The team took charge of the foundation, piling and roofing works, among others. Not to be left out, the Orang Asli team built the walls and flooring of the school from materials obtained from the jungle.

The rationale for building this school was due to feedback from the Orang Asli on the learning difficulties faced by their children on joining mainstream education. Compared to other children entering school for the first time, the Orang Asli children lacked the preparatory foundation of pre-school education and subsequently found it difficult to catch up with their contemporaries in school.

During the school construction period, SMC also sponsored two young women from Kg. Sekam to undergo pre-school teachers’ training at Mariaville Kindergarten run by the Good Shepherd Sisters. The parish is most grateful to the Sisters, principal and staff of Mariaville Kindergarten, who kindly provided them with training and materials. Upon completion of their training, the young ladies will return to Kg Sekam to teach the village children and to supervise the running of the school.

The school was completed in early September 2015. On September 24, a group of 27 individuals, including SMC parishioners and representatives from Mariaville Kindergarten, led by parish priest Fr Stephen Liew, participated in a Eucharistic celebration and worship session with the villagers and the blessing of the new school. The Mass was in Bahasa Malaysia to enable the mainly Methodist villagers to join in the celebration. The school blessing was followed by a joyous fellowship lunch.

During the same trip, the parish also donated many durian and soursop seedlings to help increase the villagers’ agricultural holdings. The plants were sponsored by three well-wishers from Taiping. The SOA project has received widespread support from the very beginning. Besides Mariaville Kindergarten, other supporters of this project include Hospital Fatimah (sponsorship of medicines, supplements and medical teams for health camps and doctors’ visits), Sunway Group and Stop Hunger Now organisation (sponsorship of fortified rice packs) and many other individuals and groups from within and outside of SMC parish, Christians and non-Christians alike. Anyone who would like to volunteer, support or contribute to the SOA project is most welcome to do so and may contact Fr Liew or the SMC parish office at 05-2540176 for further details.