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Event Updates & Impact
KSK Joins Community Health and Outreach Event at Pos Iskandar, Tasek Bera
Kechara Soup Kitchen Society (KSK) recently took part in a community event at Pos Iskandar, which drew between 1,000 and 2,000 Orang Asli attendees. The event brought together government agencies and community representatives, including Tuan Ir. Ts. Mahat a/l Mat Dong, Deputy Director General (Development) of JAKOA, along with officers from JAKOA Pahang and Bera, HOAG, Hospital Bera, and several other agencies and village leaders. KSK was represented by two team members.
Ahead of the event, JPKK members, JAKOA officers and villagers held a gotong royong to prepare the venue, with each agency setting up its own booth. KSK took part under HOAG's invitation.
Pos Iskandar comprises 16 villages managed by five village heads, with a combined population of around 800 families and 7,000 individuals, of whom about 200 families were identified as needing food aid.
As part of the outreach, KSK joined HOAG and Hospital Bera on visits to ten households, providing basic health checks and guidance. The visits revealed cases of chronic illness, including patients requiring oxygen support, along with common concerns such as high blood pressure and diabetes. HOAG's team helped residents assess their eligibility for PEKA B40 and assisted with registration and basic screenings on site.
These visits highlighted the ongoing difficulty many Orang Asli families face in accessing consistent medical follow up, largely due to transportation costs, reinforcing the importance of continued collaboration between KSK, health bodies and community partners.
Preserving Heritage Craft: A Visit to Semelai Heritage Tasek Bera
The team also visited Semelai Heritage Tasek Bera, a local enterprise preserving the craft of mengkuang weaving. Established 12 years ago, the group now has around 15 active seamstresses, some weaving at the workshop and others from home. Their products are showcased through government invitations and a permanent outlet at Kuantan 188, alongside custom orders on request.
MARA has previously supported the group with a mengkuang leaf dryer and a dye mixing machine, though the traditional pot and gas tong method remains preferred for its cost effectiveness.
The process begins with harvesting mengkuang leaves, trimmed into strips using a traditional tool called a jangka, then cooked into dye and sun dried for one to two days before weaving. Around 90% of the process is done by villagers, with the remaining machine sewing handled by two Malay artisans. The workshop runs Monday to Saturday, sustaining both livelihoods and cultural heritage.
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About the Event
Kechara Soup Kitchen Society is proud to support the Karnival Memperkasa Kesihatan Orang Kita (MEGA) 2026, a three day community health and empowerment carnival held from Friday 17 July to Sunday 19 July 2026.
The carnival brings together village residents for a series of health screenings, sports, cultural activities and awareness talks aimed at strengthening wellbeing within the community.
Preparations began on Friday 17 July, with the organising team travelling to the site in the morning and spending the afternoon and evening setting up the venue together in the spirit of gotong royong.
On Saturday 18 July, village residents arrived early for registration, followed by a morning of aerobics, a healthy cooking demonstration with lucky draws, a healthy baby competition and health screenings. The afternoon programme continued with a karaoke competition, lunch and rest, a disaster preparedness and first aid CPR briefing conducted by APM together with lucky draws, and an interactive Kahoot session, before the first day concluded in the late afternoon.
Sunday 19 July opened with registration alongside health screenings and Pap smear screening, followed by traditional sports including blowpipe shooting, tug of war and coconut bowling. This was followed by a talk on the effects of underage marriage and domestic violence together with lucky draws, and an interactive quiz. The event drew to a close with the arrival of VIPs, closing remarks and prize presentations, followed by a communal feast for residents and VVIPs. The final hours of the day were dedicated to a gotong royong clean up of the site.
Through initiatives such as MEGA 2026, Kechara Soup Kitchen Society continues to work alongside partner agencies to promote health awareness and community empowerment among Orang Asli villages.
