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Malaysia Charity ProjectMalaysia Travel Plan supports the village of Menangkin in a remote part of Sarawak, Borneo. Menangkin is home to the Iban, a tribe indigenous to Sarawak, who live in longhouses on the low lying areas along rivers. A longhouse is an essential part of Iban life; it is the centre of community life in the village. All of the villagers live in the longhouse; it is where they eat together, play together and live together. The people of Menangkin also lived in one of these longhouses, until a rampant fire destroyed the entire longhouse and all their possessions. Currently, all of the families live in small wooden huts with extremely poor hygiene conditions and no sanitary facilities. These are poor families living from the plots of land where they grow rice, pepper and rubber trees. They do not have the means to rebuild their longhouse. In collaboration with our local agent Borneo Adventure, we are building a new longhouse for the people of Menangkin, so that all of the villagers will once again have a proper home to live in. |
The villagers of MenangkinThere are currently 6 families living in alarming poverty in Menangkin, of which 3 families are made up of widows with young children and 2 families of which the father and daughter are mentally disabled. Some of these children go to school, but many stay home to help their single mom or handicapped father. The wooden huts that the villagers are currently living in are made from wooden boards and have corrugated iron roofs and no sanitary facilities whatsoever. Because of these very meagre living conditions, the village children are continually ill. Due to the lack of health facilities in the area, many of these children are forced to live their lives with health complaints. This tragedy is compounded by the fact that living conditions of the Iban in Sarawak have rapidly deteriorated the past decades due to deforestation of the rainforest and the expansion of palm oil plantation.This Malaysia Charity Project in Menangkin is lead by Emong, a Borneo Adventure representative. He grew up in Menangkin and still visits his parents in the village regularly. He and his brothers and sisters were lucky enough to be the only ones in the village to have received a college education. He hopes that this project will also give the next generation of villagers this chance as well. He believes that as long as the primary basic needs such as housing and proper sanitary facilities are available there’s a basis for a better life. |
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How you can help...You can help support the people of Menangkin by letting us know on your booking form that you would like to make a one-time donation of £5 to this Malaysia Charity Project. Any donation is entirely voluntary. We'll add the £5 to the cost of your holiday, and will deposit 100% of it into the Malaysia Charity foundation's account. All donations will go straight to the people of Borneo, allowing you to make a very personal contribution to the construction of a home for an entire village of people. If you want to keep your holiday in Malaysia, and your contributions to Malaysia charity separate, that's fine we're not seeking to create any moral obligation. We just want to offer you the chance to make a contribution to the country you're visiting, and a project that fits into how we feel about Malaysia. |
Support Menangkin with Malaysia Travel PlanProviding the people of Menangkin with their own longhouse will enable them to have a proper home and a better way of life. Having a longhouse will give the villagers the opportunity to live in the same spot as their ancestors and it will give them the ability to continue the Iban traditions. It will also help to strengthen the social network within the village community. Most importantly, it will allow the children of Menangkin to grow up in a safe and clean environment with a roof above their heads!If you would like to visit a longhouse and experience Iban traditions and culture, you can do this on a trip to see the headhunters during your Borneo visit. |
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Build your trip with our Malaysia adventure tours and Borneo tours
Build your trip with our Malaysia adventure tours and Borneo tours
