Choong (third from right) and the students joining Orang Asli children in a dance during a bonfire gathering at Kampung Kuala Bot in Tapah.
A GROUP of students from the Asian Eastern University of Science and Technology Taiwan (AEUST) were given a chance to experience how indigenous people live.
Nine students and a lecturer from AEUST, along with some volunteers from Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, joined the Crisis Relief Squad of MCA (CRSM) on its “2023 Project Caring Orang Asli” outreach programme at Kampung Orang Asli Kuala Bot in Batu 8, Tapah, Perak.
The students lived at the Orang Asli village and took part in daily activities that included chopping firewood, foraging for wild vegetables and cooking dinner.
CRSM head Datuk Natalie Lim Chong Ly said: “Through these activities, the students gained an in-depth understanding of the daily life of our indigenous population.
“The activities also raised their awareness of the health of native people.”
She said the main aim of the programme was to provide care for native people living in remote villages.
The students shared knowledge on the prevention of dengue and basic wound treatment as well as held science experience sessions, craft activities and games for the benefit of the youngsters in the village.
“Additional community care activities will be held in the future and we hope to have more people join CRSM’s activities so that vulnerable groups will be helped,” said Lim.
AEUST student union president Liu En Ting said it was the first time the group had travelled to an Orang Asli village in Malaysia.
He said they arranged sessions on aesthetics, hygiene and environmental education as well as scientific experiments.
“The Orang Asli children were really lively and enthusiastic,” he said.
“Through our interviews with the Tok Batin (village head) and villagers, we learned that the Orang Asli villages lack equipment to access water resources and proper toilets. They also need halls to hold activities,” he added.
Liu expressed his wish to return to Malaysia so he could travel deeper into the interior to visit other villages and share Taiwanese culture.
Also present during the programme was Chenderiang assemblyman Choong Shin Heng, who said AEUST regularly arranged for volunteers to travel abroad for outreach programmes including cultural exchange, health education and diverse handicraft- making courses targeting groups in remote areas as well as the vulnerable.
