The Orang Asli communities are considered as one of the most underprivileged communities in the country. However, all this while, I never really thought about them or how they live or whether they are receiving the basic needs or not. It doesn’t help that we rarely hear about them in the media too.
My point of realisation began as I joined Global Peace Foundation as an Associate Intern, where I was assigned at the Head Office. It was a fun experience and an eye-opening one as I was able to know more about Global Peace Foundation and their activities. I became more interested in the projects when I got to know about it on a deeper level.
I got the chance to attend a few ongoing projects during my internship. Through that, I explored parts of Malaysia that I had never been before and I also got to witness the life of Orang Asli where they have no access to basic needs such as clean water, education and more.
Furthermore, I have learnt and am grateful for how privileged I am when I visited a few Orang Asli villages. I am glad that an NGO like Global Peace Foundation helps to address these issues and come out with effective and sustainable solutions for the Orang Asli. Some of the projects such as Communities Unite for Purewater (CUP) and Mobile School helps to combat the issues faced by Orang Asli communities.
Under one of the CUP projects, I was assigned to assist the Field Officer in WaSH training where I demonstrated ways to correctly wash hands to the Orang Asli children. Not only that, water filters were also distributed to Orang Asli since the water source at their village is not clear and not clean. At this point, I realised that I really took such basic things for granted at home and I felt sad and shocked to see that there are still people in this world that don’t even get that.
The other opportunity that I got was to contribute to the Mobile School project. I was delighted to carry out activities and lessons for the students in Kg. Binjai. They were so interested and excited for the lessons every time we had classes with them. I had a really fun time with them. I even got the chance to organise a camp for the students with the Field Officers. The one-day camp was a success and everyone had a blast learning and making new friends.
Moreover, I got the chance to visit a few other Orang Asli villages such as Kg. Bukit Biru and Kg. Batu Putih nearby Muadzam Shah, Pahang. One of the things that I enjoyed the most there was the bountiful nature – it was truly beautiful and peaceful. I enjoyed that very much!
I also got to do some nursery work at Kg. Bukit Biru. It was exciting to do something new in nature. The Orang Asli villagers were friendly while guiding me and I managed to plant some seedlings at their farm plot.
Overall, I’m more than satisfied that I learnt many things during my two and a half month internship at Global Peace, which is definitely too short. If I could extend my internship, I would like to be involved in more activities with the children in the Orang Asli villages.
Written by:
Rupinii Vicneswaran
Associate Intern
