Helping hand: Prof Ahmad Martadha (third from left) handing over the supplies to Mohd Khairone (in green) before the team left for Johor.
SIXTY volunteers from Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) recently embarked on a flood relief mission, delivering food and medical supplies, as well as offering psychosocial and emotional support, to victims in Johor.
Making their way from Kedah on March 7, the volunteers also cleaned some 30 homes of flood-hit families in the southern state.
Johor 2023 Post-Flood Relief Mission chief Mohd Khairone Md Khatidin said the volunteers, comprising staff and students, carried out cleaning work in Segamat, Tangkak, Batu Pahat, Caah, Kluang, Muar, Labis, Skudai and Paloh.
He said the programme, supported by the Malaysia Universities Volunteer Council (Maskum), the Higher Education Ministry and the Malaysian Association of Youth Clubs (MAYC), was crucial in training volunteers to enhance the nation’s preparedness for emergency situations.
Student volunteer Muhammad Faris Fitri Mohd Suhaimi said Segamat was badly hit.
He shared how a wheelchair-bound man struggled to save himself when half of his house was submerged in water; almost everything he had was destroyed.
“According to the residents, the floods this time around were among the worst in history.
“Many of them suffered huge losses when their properties were damaged.
“Water rose to high levels. Even areas that had never experienced floods during the rainy season were not spared this time around.
“We helped to clean the mud-filled floors, furniture and household items. And we started early in the morning because there was so much to do.
“There was rubbish and mud everywhere but working together, we managed to get things done,” he said, adding that the residents were surprised when they were told that the volunteers had come all the way from Sintok.
Fellow student volunteer Nurul Ashyiera Hisham described the experience as heartbreaking.
“I was so sad when I saw homes that were completely submerged. The water level rose too fast. There was nothing much the residents could save. They lost almost everything.
“It was not easy getting there as many roads were closed. The areas where the water level had gone down were lined with damaged furniture, broken household items and the carcasses of animals with bloated stomachs that could not be saved,” she said, adding that access to clean water also proved to be a challenge.
The satisfaction of seeing the residents smile when they were done cleaning, said Nurul Ashyiera, was indescribable.
UUM deputy vice-chancellor (Student Affairs and Alumni) Prof Dr Ahmad Martadha Mohamed noted that many lost their properties and homes, and were placed in temporary evacuation centres.
The mission, he said, had helped humanise the students.
“As future leaders, students will be an example to society by showing concern, responsibility and empathy towards humanitarian issues,” he said in a press release.
