Women's and Community Empowerment Programme at Kampung Orang Asli Sungai Gabai

Women's and Community Empowerment Programme at Kampung Orang Asli Sungai Gabai

On 11 July, Kechara Soup Kitchen Society (KSK) joined hands with JAKOA Daerah Hulu Langat for a Women's and Community Empowerment Programme at Kampung Orang Asli (KOA) Sungai Gabai, Hulu Langat. The event brought together 45 participants, including the Tok Batin, 16 ladies and 20 students from KOA Sungai Gabai, four ladies from KOA Sungai Lalang Baru, two officers from JAKOA Daerah Hulu Langat and two representatives from KSK.

A Warm Welcome

The villagers had set up a canopy the day before the event, and on the morning itself, tables and chairs from the community hall were brought out and arranged underneath it. A simple breakfast of fried meehoon, along with hot tea with milk, was prepared by the villagers, who were engaged and paid by JAKOA for their efforts. The Tok Batin also shared that on weekends, hikers visiting the area park at the common parking space, where a small fee of RM10 per car and RM5 per motorcycle is collected to help maintain the premises.

Colouring for a Cause

The colouring activity was led by Pegawai Kemajuan of JAKOA Daerah Hulu Langat, with support from several parents, as well as KSK's Jien Howe and Umar. Fifty half sets of colour pencils, donated by KSK, were put to good use on colouring papers prepared by JAKOA, each themed around gotong royong.

Students were divided into Standard 1 and Standard 2 groups, with papers of varying difficulty suited to each level. It was heartening to see how clearly these children benefit from schooling, evident in the confident way they held their pencils, wrote their names and coloured within the lines. One student in particular, Yana (Not actual name), stood out for her neat and thoughtful work. Having completed her first piece with such care, she was offered a second paper, which she accepted eagerly and began colouring without a moment's hesitation.

Sharing Skills, Building Confidence

Alongside the children's activity, a make up workshop was held for the ladies, led by four women from KOA Sungai Lalang Baru. This collaboration came about through JAKOA Daerah Hulu Langat, who invited Pengerusi of KOA Sungai Lalang Baru and three of her fellow villagers to conduct the session. JAKOA provided simple make up kits with basic essentials for the participants to use and take home.

The event closed with a small prize giving ceremony, where the two students judged to have coloured best were presented with gifts by Tok Batin of KOA Sungai Gabai and Ketua of JAKOA Daerah Hulu Langat. The occasion was marked with a group photograph, capturing the spirit of the day.

Strengthening Partnerships

The programme also gave KSK the opportunity to deepen its relationship with JAKOA Daerah Hulu Langat. Puan N, who extended the invitation to KSK, remains the team's familiar point of contact. The event also introduced KSK to Mr A, Ketua of JAKOA Daerah Hulu Langat, who previously served in JAKOA Daerah Gombak Petaling, where he had come to know KSK's work in delivering dry food, surplus produce, bicycles and other community initiatives. Mr A shared with Umar that JAKOA's resources, drawn from limited MOF funding, can only go so far, and that partnerships with ground level organisations such as KSK are invaluable. He expressed a strong wish to collaborate with KSK again in future.

The team also connected with Pengerusi JPKK of KOA Sungai Lalang Baru, whose village volunteered to lead the make up workshop. She explained that her community is relatively more advanced, and that the local ladies of Sungai Gabai responded better to trainers from a similar background than to an outsourced facilitator. Contacts were exchanged, and Puan A extended a warm invitation for KSK to visit her own village for future programmes.

This gathering at Sungai Gabai reflects the strength of community partnerships built on trust, shared effort and mutual respect, and marks another step forward in KSK's ongoing commitment to empowering Orang Asli communities across Peninsular Malaysia.