The Star Online （http://thestar.com.my）
Bringing relief to Penans, 25 January 2011
by CHERYL POO(startwo@thestar.com.my)
A mobile clinic brought much-needed medical attention to the Penans of Long Singu in Sarawak.
WILL you come back for us?” pleaded the Penan village headman, Alung Ju. The anguish in his eyes reflected the anxiety in his heart.
“Hang in there, we will come back,” Mercy Malaysia Sarawak acting administrative head Jennie Soh assured him, as her team prepared to leave the Penan settlement deep in the jungles of Sungei Asap for their headquarters in Miri.
That was last August, after a fire razed the Long Luar longhouse to the ground on July 13.
Dental care: A boy winces as dentist Patrick Tie checks on a decayed tooth.
It was midnight when a child kicked over a kerosene lamp in his sleep, and within 30 minutes, fire had engulfed the longhouse. Fortunately, no lives were lost, save for three hunting dogs. However, the accident left 300 villagers homeless.
Mercy Malaysia, a non-profit organisation, moved swiftly and despatched a relief team which brought sacks of rice, hygiene packs, clothing and other basic amenities to the victims, who are currently squatting at an 80-room longhouse in Long Singu, a four-hour drive from their original settlement in Long Luar which had burned down.
As promised, Mercy Malaysia volunteers made the arduous journey back into Long Singu to hold a two-day mobile clinic, this time with UMW, the organisation’s main sponsor for Sabah and Sarawak outreach missions.
“We’re very grateful to UMW for its financial support, as well as the 42 volunteers who have made this mission possible. Among them are three doctors, two dentists, two pharmacists and two dieticians from Sibu, Miri and Kuching. The non-medical volunteers are here to help in the administrative aspects, such as registration,” says Soh.
Gotong royong: Mercy Malaysia and UMW volunteers carrying sand from the river to the longhouses.
Tucked deep inside Belaga, a 19,000sqkm district in the Kapit division of Sarawak, it may take a day to reach Long Singu, depending on weather conditions. It is four hours by truck from Miri to Sungei Asap, and another four hours on timber logging road to Long Singu.
Finally, Long Singu comes into sight, a spartan settlement not far from surrounding logging sites.
Deforestation has affected the livelihood of these traditional hunters and gatherers. Wild game, and rattan for weaving and trading, have become scarce.
Relief
The Penan community is waiting eagerly as the relief trucks pull up.
The curious stares of young children are seen through wooden railings along the verandah as the volunteers set up stations to conduct general health examinations such as pap smear, eye test and dental care.
Alung Ju, fondly known as Tok Alung, is in high spirits as he greets the entourage.
Longhouse headman Alung Ju collecting sand that will be used to put out fires.
It’s not quite 8am but his people have been informed of the mobile clinic and they wait in anticipation along the wooden landing outside their rooms.
Their longhouse is temporary accommodation built by the government while they await orders for permanent placement. “This is my house,” says 14-year-old Kenny, as he leads the way into an 8x8m room in the longhouse.
A small shelf, wooden stove and sink forms their kitchen in a corner and the little hall leads into two other rooms – one at the side and the other, at the back – which similarly, house families of four to eight.
Visitors to this part of the jungle are rare and they are warmly welcomed by these hospitable semi-modernised tribesmen.
Apart from their native tongue, the Penans speak Bahasa Malaysia which they learnt from Christian missionaries at a local church, Sidang Injil Borneo (SIB).
A Penan woman making her way to her cabin built behind the longhouse.
“The SIB volunteer workers visit seasonally, living amongst the Penan for a few weeks at a time to provide basic education and reinforce hygiene habits like cleaning their teeth properly,” Soh explains. Sex education seems to be an issue, however, as evidenced by the large number of children in sight.
Alung Ju explains that girls as young as 14 become mothers. Within this community, there are 80 adults and 226 children.
Outside, eager parents and their children have formed two lines behind the registration counters to receive medication for fever and the common cold.
Even the simple task of obtaining basic personal details proves to be a challenge for the volunteers due to a communication barrier.
The soft-spoken Penans speak in halting and heavily accented Bahasa Malaysia, and their shy demeanour means that simple details such as full name and age have to be cajoled out of them. Nevertheless, they are cooperative and the little children, well-behaved.
Nearby, a little boy whimpers as volunteer dentist Patrick Tie, 28, extracts a decayed molar. Tooth decay is a common problem here due to poor dental hygiene.
A crowd of children watch in fascination and horror as they wait in line for dental treatment.
Limited space: A typical ‘room’ for a family of six at the squatter longhouse.
Tie explains the events that led him to volunteer: “I found the native children’s plight heartbreaking while working in Long Luyong in Baram, Miri, as a medical officer. Since the clinic was a few days’ journey by foot through the jungle, many of the patients were stricken with fever and other infections by the time they arrived.”
Tie registered with the relief organisation and has since been involved in mobile clinic missions.
This April, Tie and a team of medical professionals will once again join Mercy Malaysia for another outreach mission.
Meanwhile, other volunteers are gathering buckets of sand from a nearby river. The filled vessels are placed under the longhouse in case another fire breaks out. Young boys join in the fun as they race back to the longhouse with buckets of sand.
“Thank you very much for coming to help us,” Alung Ju says gratefully, clasping Soh’s hand.
Back at the longhouse, children who are done with the medical check-up are given paper and colour pencils for an art competition.
“Many of these children are good artists,” Soh remarks. “What they need is to have an education system in place. They can apply their creativity to handicraft for trading.”
Much can be done with the Penan’s abundant resources. While relief workers venture in to help as often as logistics would permit, their efforts seem unsustainable. They cannot fix the crux of the natives’ problem as the forest diminishes around them.
Says volunteer Suhana Jan (not her real name): “While we work with them to help preserve their way of life, we wish to see them progress. These people have assets; they have the forest and they know their way around it. Get them to capitalise on that. Think of this place as a tourist destination for those who want an authentic jungle experience.”
With the recent change in strategy by the Sarawak government to start a mobile clinic in rural areas, volunteers (including medical professionals) who wish to contribute are welcome to register with Mercy Malaysia. Contact elizabethwee@mercy.org.my or visit www.mercy.org.my.
© 1995-2011 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd (Co No 10894-D)
(End)
