Lions Clubs members deliver healthcare to rural folk in Baram

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Dennis (front row, centre) gives the thumbs-up for the community service programme with the organising committee and participants.

Dennis (fifth right) with Lions Clubs International team members and programme participants during the tree-planting ceremony.

LONG MIRI, Baram: The vast and rugged terrain failed to daunt the Lions Clubs International team from accomplishing its mission of bringing healthcare to the rural communities of Baram.

The voluntary team, comprising medical-health personnel and social workers, keeps tabs on the well-being of these far-flung, mainly farming communities dogged by limited medical services.

“People in rural areas in Baram find it very difficult to see healthcare professionals because most of them are farmers with very low income. They cannot afford the high costs of travelling to distant urban centres such as Miri to get medical help as it is not cheap,” said Telang Usan assemblyman Dennis Ngau in his officiating speech at the Long Miri Rural Medical and Community Service programme here recently.

“It is not that we do not have a clinic in Baram, but we do have limitations to what the healthcare professionals can provide. Thus, such programme is highly beneficial towards serving the rural community’s needs, especially the sick and less fortunate,” he added.

More than 500 folk from remote areas here turned up for free medical services during the programme held at Long Miri Health Camp.

The camp was organised jointly by various Lions Club branches, namely Miri Mandarin, Marudi Mandarin, Belait, Batu Niah, Lambir, Lutong, and Centennial; Riam Road Secondary School (RRSS) Leo Club; Rotary Club of Miri Oil Town; Sarawak Hearing and Aural Rehabilitation Society; Miri 4×4 Group; and Friends of Lions.

A villager in Long Miri undergoes acupuncture treatment as part of the community service programme, as Dennis (fifth left) and others look on.

The outreach programme also partnered with a medical team from the Health Ministry, represented by Miri Hospital, Woodman Group of Companies, Bright Smile Dental Clinic, International Optical Company, Green Summit Development Sdn Bhd, Abbott Laboratories, Siong Fah Motors Sdn Bhd, The Wallpaper Shop, Lt Ever-Well Trading Sdn Bhd, Boulevard Hypermarket, and Pathlab.

Some 80 volunteers participated in the community outreach programme which benefited villagers with limited access to medical care, mostly from Long Miri, Long Bawang and Long Pilah.

“We believe this is a good learning process for you as a human being and in your career. We believe that this will help you to grow into a better person.

“I am really pleased for what the Lions have done, serving the underprivileged people and benefitting them greatly,” said Dennis.

The two-day event, from Sept 16-17, provided free healthcare services including health screening, counselling and medication for residents from over 80 longhouses and settlements scattered sparsely across the Telang Usan constituency in Baram, mostly from the Kayan, Penan, Kenyah, Malay and Iban communities.

“Our main aim is to improve rural healthcare by providing medical services to the rural communities in line with our ‘iConnect’ – the Lions clubs signature project which has been running for so many years.

“Through this programme, it is evident that we take our corporate social responsibility (CSR) commitments very seriously and we are proud to be able to play our part in improving the health quality of the people in rural areas, including in remote Baram,” organising chairperson Chriz Chan added.

Apart from free health screenings, the Lions also provided free haircuts, donated clothes, and gas stoves to the villagers.

A tree-planting activity was also held in conjunction with the programme.

Present were Lions Club of Miri Mandarin president Kueh Chie Tiong, Lions Club of Kota Kinabalu Downtown past district governor William Tan, Governor of Lions Clubs International (LCI) District 308-A2 Pelly Lee and Daleh Long Pelutan headman Tingang Pahang.

Kueh (eighth left) presents donated clothes to Tingang (sixth right) as Dennis (seventh right) and others look on.

Dennis (seated) tries out a hearing aid during a health screening.