Outreach to Mabul Island (Series 4) Travelog : In the Eye of Kery (29th August 2010 : 4th Day)

This time I woke up as early as 2.30am with an intention to perform Qiamullail. Right when I just started to take wudu’, Macik Sapura accompanied by her child appeared from the side of the mosque to bring me and Rahman home. We finished sahur around 3am, and considering that it was still way too early, we decided to take a nap. Unfortunately, we ended up waking up at 6.45am. After praying and taking pictures of the broken bridge, we moved quickly to the mosque then straight to the Telaga Kasih for photo taking before went back to the mosque for the next activities.

The children were divided into groups according to their levels of mastery of Quranic recitation – knowing Jawi, reading Quran and memorizing short Quranic verses. While the classes were going on, I encountered a problem to prepare for the closing ceremony when the generator could not be used to supply electricity. It turned up that it was caused by the extension, in which one wire was disconnected from its original place. Alhamdulillah, this trouble was fixed with the help from certain villagers.

Next, the closing ceremony which was conducted by Abang Jali took place inside the mosque, started by speeches from Panglima Mubin and Dr Dol. Tokens of appreciation were then given to the foster families and to Shima and the gang for providing so much assistance for us during the programme. Deliveries of fidyah and generator were also done accordingly followed by the photography session of all the members from IIUM and Mabul Island who were involved in this programme. I took a chance to snap pictures with my foster mother, Macik Sapura and thank her for all the hassle she had gone through for the sake of us.

We budged to the jetty after the Zuhr prayer. Some villagers escorted us to the boat and helped us to load our belongings. Macik Sapura also followed sending us to the jetty. I was very content with their kindness and willingness to accept us for three days staying at Mabul. With the waves of goodbye, we were off to Semporna. Before headed to Kak Ramlah’s house in Tawau, we dropped by in Pasar Tanjung Tawau looking for something to be bought. I really did not have anything to buy as this is my hometown; there was nothing special for me to look at.

We arrived in the house of Kak Ram before Maghrib. As great as in Kak Jijah’s house few days back, we were treated with variety of delicious foods for iftar in Kak Ram’s house. After thanking her family for the very pleasant treat, we departed to Tawau Airport. I left my dirty clothes in my house on our way to the airport. Unfortunately, our flight had been delayed by one hour. I spent my time get along with Abang Jali and Cecep waiting for our departure. Boarding at 10pm, we arrived in LCC Terminal around 1.30am and finally arrived at IIUM around 3am. I was very happy and relieved that our journey had come to its end.

That was all, so long for Mabul IV. Thank you to everyone who take part directly and indirectly. We love you sooo much!! =)

Outreach to Mabul Island (Series 4) Travelog : In the Eye of Kery (28th August 2010 : 3rd Day)

I woke up 3.30am at the mosque. I was quiet surprised to see Macik Sapura stayed there waiting for us to take us home for sahur. I wonder how long she had stayed there. Hastily, I woke Rahman up and then we walked home together. We observed that the members of the house had already finished their sahur, so I assumed that we were the last. Sahur was just as good as Iftar but our sleepy eyes and full stomachs let us savour the foods with less appetite.

After Subh prayer, we were allowed to go back to our houses. We agreed that we should return to the mosque by 7am to make the preparations for the whole day activities. However, it was raining real heavy. The storming winds and waves of the sea water which rises up to the bridge height shook the entire house. Sea water appeared out of the wooden floor. Despite this situation, the residents were very relaxed, even sleeping soundly. They must have been used to this kind of weather. Seeing them calmed me down.

Delayed by the weather, we were one hour behind the schedule. The children were still not present in the mosque. The generator for the mosque is off and the person who was in charge of it was not there. So I and Abang Acap decided to use the small generator we brought but we could not find where they kept the petrol. This problem was solved soon after we consulted Pacik Mubin who helped us starting the generator for the power supply.

Around 9am, my fellow committees gathered the children by conducting singing to capture their attention. Afterward, we started the module by teaching them the theories on wudu’. Most of them already know about wudu’ as they have learned it in their fardhu ‘ain class with Ustaz Yasir, the difference was whether they remember them or not. I wished someone would invent a good song on wudu’ to help children remember the steps more easily. Then, we continue with the practical by dividing them into groups. I handled the group of boys who were always fighting among them even for a small matter. We postponed the practical of wudu’ because the wudu’ area was fully occupied by girls.

The programme proceeded with continuous episodes of Upin & Ipin that taught mostly on sawm (puasa). It caught the attention of most people including the grown-ups who were sitting at the back. However, there was a small group of children especially the small ones who could not enjoy the show since their sight was blocked by other people who seated in front. So, I asked them to stand up. I was not sure if all of them understood the message that we tried to deliver because few of them only loved to see the animation.

After Zuhr prayer, the module was on solah. As usual, we started with theories with some aid from the video presentation. During this class, I was asked to be the model for the children. I was a bit nervous since my usual practice of solah was not exactly the same as shown in the video, I mean on the minor details. Divided into small groups, these children were then trained on the practical of solah and some additional theories about Islam. I asked the boys I handled to perform Zuhr prayer in jama’ah and I corrected them if they did any mistakes. All of them have not memorized the readings in solah, and only a few could recite al-Fatihah correctly.

Since I stayed at the back handling the portable speaker t most time during the class being conducted, I could see many different types of children. Some of them really knew what we were teaching, some only concerned to get the prizes offered – raising their hands even if they were blur about the topic discussed, some just follow what their friends were doing – they laughed when others did, some wanted to join the crowd but felt shy to do so – peeping from the side of the mosque, and a few of them who played at the back uninterested to join the class. I tried to approach the last group I mentioned here but they ran away once I got close to them that caused me to feel a little disappointed. Anyway, it was fun to deal with these Mabulian children.

We decided to pay a visit and give some financial contribution to Umi’s family, who suffered the loss of their mother a day before. I felt a sudden empathy once I entered their house. Umi, the eldest sister, swept her eyes putting a smile on her sad face when we stepped inside. It touched me deeply to see the sibling’s red eyes swollen by tears while they continued finishing their chores, folding the clothes. We learned that they had not consumed any food after the death and the youngest sibling was wondering around the bridges in search for their mother. I could not imagine being in their place. We hope our little effort would ease their pain.

After that, we took a look at the nearly completed but already working Telaga Kasih. The villagers queued into a long row bringing their gallons together to collect the water brought up through the pipes. After snatches of pictures, we went back to the mosque preparing for Iftar Jamai’ with the villagers of Kampung Mabul. The Majlis Berbuka Puasa ran smoothly thanks to the committees and villagers involved. Eating together really reduced the gap between us. At first, I thought that the food provided was not sufficient but it was actually more than enough. There was many unconsumed food that we decided to distribute as moreh after Tarawih. The villagers craved for dates and they kept asking if there was stock of dates for them to take home.

The night was same as the day before, where we spent our time by doing Ibadah, chatting with the villagers and brainstorming. Dr Dol joined our discussion and he came up with lots of suggestions. He suggested that this series should not be the last. He also wanted if we could bring cows to Mabul to be slaughtered during Hari Raya Korban. He seemed to be eagerly looking forward for the next series of Outreach to Mabul Island.

I and Rahman were on our way to our house and we found out that the bridge which linked to our house was broken by the morning storm. Safely returned home, as expected, we were once again nicely forced to eat. Luckily, I had been saving an empty space in my stomach for this treat. Before we left to the mosque, I asked our mother when we should return home for sahur because we did not want for her to burden herself waiting and fetching us from the mosque, and she replied, 3am. Abang Acap treat us another supper in the local food stall before we I’tikaf in the mosque.

**another day that make us tired but still we are excited and eager to help. But, the next day is the final day for this mission. Very sad to continue. The story of the final day will be published on 23rd October 2010, 8 am. =) Wait!!