LUBOK ANTU: Since the Wesak Day fire that razed Rumah Ngumbang, a longhouse at Nanga Sumpa, Ulu Delok in Lubok Antu to the ground, assistance from many quarters have come to the aid of the 36 families affected by the fire.
Kuching-based tour operator Borneo Adventure which has a long-standing ecotourism partnership with the longhouse sent essential food supplies on Tuesday afternoon after receiving a call from a resident of the longhouse.
On Wednesday Borneo Adventure coordinated a relief effort to buy and collect clothes, blankets, cooking pots, food and other supplies for the longhouse.
A number of churches, Buddhist temples, NGOs, individuals and companies have also contibuted goods and donations which left Kuching on a truck early this morning and are scheduled to arrive at Nanga Sumpa this afternoon.
SCHOMOS Sarawak is running a donation drive, where clothes, shoes, consumables and food can be donated to SCHOMOS room, level 3 Sarawak General Hospital on May 15 from 7 to 9pm. SCHOMOS Sarawak which stands for Section Concerning House Officers, Medical Officers, and Specialist is a body within the Malaysian Medical Association.
Some families are staying at Borneo Adventure’s Nanga Sumpa Lodge which is also operating as a central kitchen. The company has a team at the longhouse to assess further needs. Today, Borneo Adventure will also contribute cash payments to each family to help them.
Further supplies and assistance will be sent in the coming days. Donations can be delivered to Borneo Adventure’s office at 55 Main Bazaar, Kuching.
The May 13 fire started between 8.30 to 9am and within an hour had engulfed the 23-bilik longhouse which housed upwards of 250 people. Out of 12 single houses around the longhouse, 8 remain intact and livable. The fire claimed one casualty, 70-year-old Meda Awik, whose remains were found in one of the units.
Lubok Antu member of Parliament William Nyalau Badak and Batang Ai state assemblyman Malcom Mussen Lamoh came to provide aid. Nyalau donated RM7,200 in cash to all the victims of the fire while Mussen donated RM3,000. Nyalau and Mussen pledged a further RM1,000 to each family affected by the fire.
Land Development Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar James Masing announced a donation of RM5,000.