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!!

Outreach to Mabul Island (S4) (27th August 2010 : 2nd Day)

We got up early in the morning to have sahur together. I was very sleepy maybe because still not used to the time zone of Tawau. Then, we hurried to have shower and perform Subh prayer before leaved to the Tawau Airport. I was so proud of Kak Jijah’s father for refusing to take the money gift from our side, even though they deserved it in exchange for the accommodation, meals and transport that they provided. May Allah SWT bless their lives. Next, we get to Semporna via a van and an Inova which had already been arranged by Kak Mar.

We arrived in Semporna before 8am and rushed to buy a container filled of petrol for the generator usage later in Mabul. I bought the container (called “gallon” by local people) from an old shop. Since the shop did not provide an official receipt, we asked the owner to fill up the payment form we provided for proof of the transaction. The owner, who was an old Chinese man, refused to do so after looking the form. Maybe he was afraid of being scammed. So, he just gave us a handwritten bill stamped the shop’s chop. What a funny old man.

There was a death around 1am in Mabul Island. Due to this, Pacik Mubin, who supposed to take us to the island, had to delay the plan because he also took part to help the family that confronted the incident. He arrived at the jetty in Semporna around 9am, and after loading all things to his boat, we were forced to wait for another hour for him to finish his business there. While waiting, I get to have a little chat with Pacik Mubin for the first time. I thought to myself, so this is Pacik Mubin they were talking about. Finally, around 10am, we started moving towards Mabul. I spent most of my time taking a nap in the boat to rest for the tiring morning.

I was truly amazed from the beautiful views of the island even before I reached the land of Mabul. The blue sky, clear water and white sand made me feel calm and happy. Just like what I have expected and heard from other’s experience, the people of Mabul were very friendly and we were treated with a warm welcome. The villagers voluntarily lent their hands to bring our belongings to the mosque. Our presence was also greeted with smiles.

Soon after settled down, we moved on to the discussion with the community leaders. Rahman explained the reason for this series of Outreach to Mabul Island and our need of foster families. The discussion went very well as nothing much to be talked about since Misi had done three series of this kind of programme before in this island. We decided to postpone the reception of foster families and distribution of donation items because it was already time for Zuhr.

After Jumaat prayer, we proceed with the reception of foster families. According to plan, each student will receive a foster family but because some families were not there during that time, selected families got to accept two foster children. As everybody had gone to follow their own houses, I and Rahman went to Haji Yusuf’s home stay to settle for the accommodation for Dr Dol. Pity for our advisor, he had to searched for his own food because Haji Yusuf did not provide food for the customer since his cook was on holiday and unavailable. The home stay was on under renovation, so Dr Dol also needed to find his own company since he was the only customer staying there during that duration.

Next was the distribution of donation items after the ‘Asr prayer. A list name of deserving families was used as reference during the distribution. It made me laugh to see the villagers especially the children swarmed around the committees in charge. It was very uncontrollable – the children keep reducing the radius of the crowd although they were continuously asked to keep a distance away from the donation clothes. At one stage, an old folk had to hit the children with an empty box to make them follow the order. The most humorous part was the chaos created when the children fought their ways to obtain the last few remaining garments. This scenario shows how much they value these donations.

After transferring my bags to my foster home, we visited the villagers and walked around the island. The well that was named Telaga Kasih and sponsored by Darul Fitrah was still under construction. From my own observations, the villagers really relied on underground water as the source of clean water. I could see many holes dug on a part of the village. According to Abang Acap, these holes were dug to search source of water, and after one source was already drained, they will search for another. I learned something here – how people in Mabul work very hard in searching for water until the have to buy it, while in our place, we could see people just don’t appreciate the water by wasting it.

For the first day there, we broke our fast together with our foster families; only Dr Dol had his iftar in the food outlet in the village. I and Rahman stayed in Hajah Laura’s house, the house of sharks. We were treated like VIPs, in which our mother reserved a special portion for us with various choices of kuih, drinks and foods served in the table. Hajah Laura and Macik Sapura who also be our foster mother, stayed there watching and keeping us company while we were eating until finish. Moreover, they insisted to clean the dishes later and asked us to rest. I felt a bit shy to be treated very nice like this. I did not want to be a burden for them as they treated us more like a guest that a foster child.

Night in Mabul is allocated fully for Ibadah since this was the month of Ramadhan. We joined the jama’ah in the mosque by performing Maghrib, Isya’ and Tarawih together. Then, we started some sharing moment and brainstorming for the next day. Brothers, including myself, were encouraged to return to the mosque after supper to perform I’tikaf, while sisters returned to their respective houses.

*this is the story of the 2nd day of the programme. We feel a little bit exhausted, but the still next day to be continued. Wait for the story!! Will be published on 21st October 2010, 8 am. =)

Outreach to Mabul Island (S4) (26th August 2010 : 1st Day)

My Thursday morning was filled with preparations for Mabul 4. Since I was the only participant who did not have class on that day, I had been assigned together with Kak Mar to settle the final preparations – labeling, weighing and packaging the generator, wrapping the signage, borrowing the audio visual equipments from Censerve, and reconfirming for transportation to LCC Terminal. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining; in fact, I was really glad to give my early commitment as this was my good opportunity to get along with other participants especially Rahman and Kak Jijah whom I did not really know before. Alhamdullilah, we managed to get the entire job done before 3pm, with the aid from all parties involved.

We headed off to LCCT around 3.30pm after loading the boxes, bags and equipments to the bus, some photo taking, and brief speeches from Madam Nelli and Dr Dolhadi. I was a bit exited to go back to my hometown and eager to visit to Mabul Island where I’ve never been before. Everything was flowing according to the plan at LCCT and all praises to Allah SWT; there was no excess luggage and no delay on our flight. We departed at 6.25pm and arrived safely in Tawau. Soon after, I quickly dealt for taxi for the officer’s transportation to Kak Jijah’s house. The taxi driver, Bro Don also agreed to take Dr Dol and Abang Jali from Kak Jijah’s house to Tawau Airport at the 5 o’clock in the morning.

Our arrival in Taman Jen Loong 1, Kak Jijah’s house, was taken care of very nicely by her family. Kak Ramlah’s parents were also there. We were treated with delicious dinner – Tawau’s cooking, a taste where we won’t acquire in UIA. I had to disappoint my family by not coming home that day despite my house is just less than a kilometer away. I explained that we were still attached to the tentative and we had to follow the plan. I’m sure they understood the situation. Then, after some self-preparation, we ended the night by having some rest.

*this is the end for the first day. we will post the story of the second day of the programme 0n 19th October 2010, 8 am. Wait!! more interesting story to be told =)

Da’wah Exploration in Sarawak (DESA 10) : Report on Servay at all Villages

Here is the report that been collected by the committees of DESA 2010 on the servay that been conducted during the programme. This report was very important for the next series because we'll provide what been requested by them but depends on what we are capable of. InsyaAllah we'll make a fundraising for this purpose. We hope everyone can help us in helping them.

KAMPUNG GAYAU, SRI AMAN SARAWAK

THE PROBLEMS OF THE VILLAGERS

1. Difficulty in getting knowledge about Islam theory and practically
2. There is no full time Dai’e as a permanent guider
3. Failed to identify the alphabet of Al-Quran
4. Transportation as it cost them a lot of money
5. Electricity as they depending fully on the usage of generator
6. No clinic
7. Education
8. Communication as they have poor Malay language usage

THE REQUESTS

1. A full time and permanent Dai’e to guide them
2. More donations on the good facilities of the village such as lights on the walkways.
3. Books for the kids reading materials
4. A permanent religious classes on learning the alphabet of Al-Quran and Iqra’
5. Malay Language classes
6. Clothes
7. Installing a mini-clinic
8. Improving the condition of their houses
9. A mass cleanliness and health awareness programme


KAMPUNG GAWANG, SIMUNJAN SARAWAK


THE PROBLEMS OF THE VILLAGERS

1. Difficulty in getting knowledge about Islam theory and practically
2. There is no full time Dai’e as a permanent guider
3. Failed to identify the alphabet of Al-Quran
4. Clean water resource
5. Transportation
6. Electricity

THE REQUESTS

1. A full time and permanent Dai’e to guide them
2. More donations on the good facilities of the village such as lights on the walkways.
3. Books for the kids reading materials
5. Malay Language classes
6. Clothes
7. Improves the condition of their houses
8. A mass cleanliness and health awareness programme


KAMPUNG RUAN, SIMUNJAN SARAWAK

THE PROBLEMS OF THE VILLAGERS

1. Difficulty in getting knowledge about Islam theory and practically
2. Failed to identify the alphabet of Al-Quran

THE REQUESTS

1. A full time and permanent Dai’e to guide them
2. Malay language classes
3. Books for the kids reading materials
4. A mass cleanliness and health awareness programme


THE AIDS THAT COULD BE PROVIDED

1. Books
2. Clothes
3. Painting
4. Some activities that involved the groups of mothers, kids, and teenagers
5. Medical check-up

p/s : For what point we are helping muslim on the other side of the world, but still ignorance towards those who are closer to us. Think it for yourself!!