ALL EARS: A section of the villagers listen to the first aid demonstration conducted by Haizulyadi Anwar (left) and James Empungan (second left) - training manager of MRC, Miri Chapter.
MIRI: Staff of Shell Malaysia Legal Services Unit and 21 Shell dealers from Miri, Bintulu, Batu Niah, Bekenu, Limbang, Tatau and Mukah yesterday presented RM12,000 in cash and fire fighting equipment to the community of the Sungai Entulang Longhouse.
Head of Legal, Thavakumar Kandiahpillai led the fifty-member WCWS project team under Shell Malaysia’s giving-back to the community programme ‘We Care We Share (WCWS).
With fire being the major hazard to the longhouse, which is made up of 106 families, the Shell Malaysia team, represented by Thavakumar, donated 21 new fire extinguishers and nine first aid kits to the village headman Justine Manai.
In an effort to help preserve the environment, Shell Malaysia also donated about 120 3R-drinking bottles to the longhouse families. This is to encourage the use of 3R-bottles to reduce the use of plastic bottles by the longhouse folk.
The team also donated about RM1,200 worth of rations to three of the needy families at the longhouse. Shell dealers topped up this contribution with RM1,500 cash donation to each of the three families.
These contributions will help alleviate the hardship of people like Asong Pait and Chandi Ngadan, whose husbands have passed away leaving them to care for their young children.
The Persatuan Kaum Ibu of the longhouse also benefitted from a voucher worth RM1,600 donated by the Shell dealers, to enable them to purchase the much needed cooking utensils and crockery from Miri Departmental Store at the Piasau Industrial Area.
The Persatuan Kaum Ibu is a group of women tasked to cook for all major functions at the longhouse such as official visits, festivals and funerals.
The Miri Chapter of the Malaysia Red Crescent was also present to conduct a first-aid demonstration for the longhouse community, showing them the proper ways to dress wounds and treat fractures.
Whilst all these activities were taking place, staff from the Columbia Asia Medical Centre conducted free health screening among the longhouse dwellers and some members of the WCWS project team checked for high blood pressure and diabetes.
Thavakumar earlier in his speech said WCWS charity event is an annual must-do for Shell Malaysia.
“It is a joint project undertaken with our dealers and partners to reach out to the community especially in areas where we are operating. I must thank all the 21 Shell dealers and those from MRC and Columbia Asia Medical Centre for making the project a success,” he said.
He said this year the team decided to switch the location of the event from peninsular Malaysia.
“For many of us west Malaysians in the Legal team, witnessing the local Iban custom of ‘miring’ and ‘ngajat’ dances proved to be an educational and eye-opening experience, as some of us have never visited an Iban longhouse before, particularly this longhouse that is the longest in Sarawak in terms of ‘pintu’,” he added.
Headman Justine Manai thanked them for selecting his village for the WCWS project.
“The charity project and donations are very timely and very much appreciated as we are very far away from the urban centres. For example, the fire extinguishers are very much needed by our volunteer firemen who also help in fire fighting in nearby longhouses,” he said.
Besides, he said greater safety awareness is also a must, in view of the wooden structure of the longhouse and also past incidence of fire outbreak that had destroyed 80 doors of the longhouse in 1980.
Among those present were the Sarawak Shell Bhd Legal team, James Paul; managing counsel, Downstream and Shared Services, Shell Malaysia, Lily Rozita; and Downstream Retail Territory manager Miri/Bintulu, Mohd Sufian Mohd Pisal.