RCC Sapulut Project bearing fruit
Published on: Saturday, April 22, 2017
Text Size:
IT was a windfall for the Kg Sapulut-Balaron community when Rotary International (RI) District 3310 Governor Michael Yee from the Rotary Club of Garden City, Singapore, led a delegation to tour the Rotary Community Corps (RCC) Sapulut-Balaron Eden Garden Organic Farm in the interior one Sunday.
This RCC Sapulut is an initiative of the Rotary Club of Kota Kinabalu (RCKK), the oldest Rotary Club in Sabah.
A wide range of agricultural produce harvested by the RCC members, the majority of them Muruts, was snapped up in no time by the visiting group. These include hill rice, leafy vegetables, fruit, gourds, tapioca, sweet potatoes, yam and chili padi.
Chairman of the RCC Sapulut Committee, Jubilik Sunok, 41, said if they were to bring all the produce to Pekan Nabawan for sale that day, it would probably fetch only about RM700. But the big-hearted Rotarians pooled their resources and came up with a contribution of RM1,670, much to the delight of the farmers.
Speaking to the Daily Express, he said: “Fifty percent of the proceeds would go to the Community Fund (or Tabung Komuniti).
“This RCC Sapulut-Balaron ensures economic empowerment of the farming community because we are able to sell the surplus for fast cash. We need money to support our children’s education.”
As quoted by the President of RCKK, Jeyan Marimuttu, the rationale for RCC as espoused by Dr Ron Denham, a Past District Governor of Rotary International District 7070 (Canada) who is also Founding Chairman of Water and Sanitation Rotarian Action Group (WASRAG), is:
“Rotary Community Corps are local. They are part of the community and help mobilise the community.
They ensure that local needs are met. And most significantly, a Rotary Community Corps has a vested interest in its own success. Their members have to live with the results of their work; their commitments are the basis for sustainability. Rotary grant projects that establish Rotary Community Corps help to ensure that the project’s impact lives on in the community long after Rotary’s direct support ends”.
What is the RCC concept, a non-Rotarian may ask. Marimuttu defined RCCs as teams of men and women who work in partnership with Rotary Clubs to improve their communities. “Each RCC is sponsored by a Rotary Club and as such, the Club acts as the RCC’s partner in service. Membership in an RCC is open to any adult in the community who shares Rotary’s commitment to service. But an RCC member is not a Rotarian,” he clarified.
“However, RCCs provide their members with opportunities to collaborate with Rotarians and develop valuable leadership skills. As representatives of the population, RCC members offer community solutions for community challenges.”
More significantly, Marimuttu said, RCKK is approaching the RCC Sapulut Project in a holistic manner for permanence and sustainability. “We are not just addressing the needs of the adult population in Sapulut but in fact all segments – the very young, the youth, the senior citizens and what have you.”
Towards this end, RCKK had conducted talks for parents and students of SMK Sepulut (April 2016), a Rotary Medical Outreach Camp (October 2016) and formed the first Rural Interact Club of SMK Sepulut (February 2017).
Vouching for RCKK’s holistic approach to transforming the Sapulut community, RCC Sabah Regional Chairman (2016-2017), Christopher Liew said Past Assistant Governor Iskandar Ahmad and team had given another motivational talk, this time to primary pupils and parents at SK Lotong (Kg Balaron) early this month.
“Come July, we will carry out another medical camp (dental care) in Sapulut. A group of Rotaractors from Singapore will be joining us for their field experience.”
Liew who was the District 3310 RCC Chairman during District 3310 Governor Philip Chong’s term of office (2015-2016) shared how RCC Sapulut was conceived. Sometime in May 2015, a medical outreach project was carried out in the Sapulut area by the Basel Christian Church of Malaysia (BCCM), KK Chinese Congregation.
“During the fellowship gathering, the leader of the Sapulut area (Jubilik) asked whether we can help them to improve their socio-economic status. This revolves around the aspects of economic empowerment, health, safety, education and environmental protection. We found that this matches the RCC concept.”
According to him, the original concept of RCC Project in Sapulut was to create an Eden Garden Organic Farm in one village, and then duplicate it in the next village. The entire Sapulut area consists of 13 villages (about four to five hours’ drive from Kota Kinabalu).
“We chose Kg Balaron because the leader of the 13 villages lives in that village. We started planning together with Philip, the then Assistant Governor Iskandar and RCKK Board members. We advocated natural or organic farming to make it sustainable. The project is easy to implement. Our aim is to teach the rural folks how to fish and not give them fish repeatedly.
“It is also educational in the sense that we teach the people about short-term, mid-term and long-term cash crops.
We enlighten them on what plants to grow during the dry season and wet season.
“It is hands-on. They have to do it themselves; otherwise, nobody is going to help them.
We are only facilitating them…their job is to get to the field in the evening to carry out clearing, watering and the like. Of course, we need to constantly monitor and motivate them to change their mindset and attitude,” he explained.
Liew said language was no barrier, given the presence of Taitim Tulas as RCKK’s RCC-Club Chairman for RCC Sapulut (2015-2016, 2016-2017, 2017-2018). “He is a Murut from Tenom and speaks Murut.
He connects with the people who feel a sense of belongingness.”
Other key personnel involved in the project included organic technical advisers Paul Chang (RC KK Mandarin and District 3310 RCC Singapore Regional Chairman James Lee (RC Singapore), District 3310 RCC Chairman Jimmy Ooi (RC Singapore), incoming District Governor Datuk Lee Chuen Wan, RCKK President-Elect Dr Ravi Mandalam and President-Nominee Philip Koh. Jimmy and James visited the Eden Garden Organic Farm in October last year.
According to Chang, the latest development is the provision of 1,000 Moringa seedlings to RCCC Sapulut members for continued organic farming by virtue of its health benefits. Also known as drumstick tree, this tree crop (which bears fruit after three years) is rich in nutrients like protein, iron, zinc, magnesium, potassium and calcium as well as Vitamins A, B, C, D and E.
“When the Moringa plant is six months old, its leaves can be utilised for various purposes. Extracted juice from the leaves can be taken as a drink, and when mixed with water, it can be sprayed as fertiliser. On top of it, the leaves can be sun dried for conversion into powder form. This can be mixed with rice bran for poultry feed,” he shared.
DG Yee’s entourage included District 3310 Assistant Governor Emily Chong, incoming District Governor Datuk Lee Chuen Wan and wife, ex-Senator Datuk Naomi Chong Set Mui, District 3310 RCC Chairman Jimmy Ooi (RC Singapore), District Governor Nominee, Jeffrey Yong (RC Bandar Seri Begawan, Negara Brunei), District Membership Development Chairman, Khushroo Dastur (RC Tanglin, Singapore), past District Governor Datuk Zainie Abdul Aucasa, past Assistant Governor Iskandar Ahmad, District 3310 RCC Singapore Regional Chairman, James Lee (RC Singapore) and District 3310 RCC Johor Regional Chairman, Ir. Derek Cheah (RC Johor Bahru Sentral).
Also present were Irwan Norris (RC Johor Bahru Sentral), Nur Azarina Khamis (Rotary Satellite Club, Singapore), Gwen Ng and Chua Gat Gee (RC Singapore), Betty Wong (RC Bandar Seri Begawan), Datuk Alex Sham (RCKK), Patrick Chin (RCKK), Tan Yew Lim (RCKK), Paul Foronda (RCKK), Christina Aluda (RC Kinabalu Sutera), Alice Kunjan (RC Kinabalu Sutera), May Chung (RC KK Pearl), Azalene Quadra (RC KK Pearl) and Inner Wheel Club members Sarifah and Emmeline Tan.
ADVERTISEMENT
