Members of Love and Care Society, a freelance Ipoh-based social work team, took time off to help out at Kampung Ulu Jelintoh, Gopeng recently.
The team had the cooperation of Mansor Bin Jang, the village head of Kampung Ulu Jelintoh, in the conduct of their altruistic efforts at improving the lives of the indigenous people. The volunteers taught the villagers, especially the children, the importance of hygiene and education.
They gathered in front of the Orang Asli settlement, located about 12km from Gopeng, early in the morning. Headman Mansor was present to welcome them. It was great to see volunteers from different backgrounds working together to help the Orang Asli.
Activities with the kids took place in the community hall. The kids were playfully active and the volunteers had a tough time calming them down in order to get things started. Once they settled down the kids behaved themselves and enjoyed the games and activities arranged specially for them.
Jelintoh consists of over 100 families with an average of five kids per family. The total population is about 700. Most of the villagers eke out a living from the surrounding jungle.
“We’re a non-profit society whose aim is to provide a substantial and meaningful assistance to people in difficulties. The villagers here live in poverty without proper houses. Their living conditions are bad. They complained about leaking roofs, flooding and dampness,” said Jenny, a team member to Ipoh Echo.
Mansor hoped that activities such as these would continue on a much more regular basis.
“We hope the authorities would provide better services and amenities, including an access road to Gopeng and possibly some form of public transportation,” he added.
Nantini
