Written by Vinisha Rengiah and Nabila Shohimi

On 19 March 2022, a group of passionate individuals from different walks of life joined hands to revitalise the school compound of Sekolah Kebangsaan Bukit Tadom (A) – a school specialised for the education of the Orang Asli children in Bukit Tadom. This noble humanitarian work is made possible by Dow who supported ‘Projek BUMI @ Bukit Tadom’, organised by EcoKnights. 

Situated at the lower lands of Bukit Tadom in the district of Kuala Langat, Selangor, approximately 200 Orang Asli families were affected by the December flood last year. Originally functioning as a temporary relief centre (PPS) for the surrounding villages, SK Bukit Tadom (A) was inundated by the flood as it continued to worsen. This left its 15 teachers and 100 students, including kindergarten children, with close to nothing as the flood brought critical property damages to books, furniture, laptops and other school necessities.  Through Project BUMI (Benefiting Underprivileged and Marginalised Individuals), EcoKnights mobilised into action, raising funds and public awareness on the dire situation of the school and villagers.

Natural disaster recovery for citizens goes beyond immediate post-disaster survival.

The immediate flood relief aid serves as the first and second phases of ‘Project BUMI @ Bukit Tadom’ to help the community of Bukit Tadom in the process of recovering from the aftermath. Believing that road to recovery often does not stop at surviving the time of disaster, the project has started moving into its third phase known as the ‘restoration and revitalization phase’ to assist the community in rebuilding their resilience. Joining in the call for necessary sustainability action is Dow as a partner of EcoKnights to rebuild a positive learning environment of SK Bukit Tadom (A).

41 volunteers consisting of employees of Dow, EcoKnights, Malaysian Youth Care members and the general public repainted the damaged school walls and replaced broken toilet doors while school essentials such as printers, student learning necessities (school bags and stationery), teaching kits and cleaning equipment were provided to the school representative. The event started at 7.30am and ended at 3.30pm.

Post-disaster community resilience is a concentrated effort.

Post-disaster community resilience now lies as a socioeconomic challenge for Malaysians of all ages in the country’s transformational growth towards sustainability. For SK Bukit Tadom (A), it is still a long journey for the school to be restored and fully resume to a conducive learning environment for both teachers and students.

On the other hand, Bukit Tadom’s Orang Asli villagers who are of the Temuan tribe, face similar daunting challenges in getting back on their feet to restart their lives with the precious little of what is left. Having struggled with the economic downfall following the COVID-19 pandemic for the past 2 years, the flood that struck their homes have caused much damages and losses that threatens their livelihood in terms of job security, financial stability as well as proper health and wellbeing.

This is where Project BUMI, through the ‘restoration and revitalization’ phase, comes into play with the support of key actors such as Dow, in providing help that leads to the resilience and sustainability of the indigenous people in Bukit Tadom.

Take a look at the final outcome of the day’s program at: https://youtu.be/7eIgjFbCyyU

About Project BUMI: Meet the Needs

Project BUMI is EcoKnights’ sustainability-driven project that aims to uplift underprivileged communities from poverty and empower them towards sustainable living. The goal is to ensure basic necessities are made available to all communities throughout the country. This includes a continuous supply of electricity, clean water, proper sanitation, connectivity alongside access to basic healthcare and education for the communities.

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*For any inquiries, you may contact Ms. Shahirah at shahirah@ecoknights.org.my or Ms Nabila at nabila@ecoknights.org.my