ONE HUNDRED MILES INTO THE JUNGLE

ENTRANCE TO THE VILLAGE

We have had a very interesting week here in East Malaysia. It is the first week of 'holiday' here. School is out for 2 weeks and most people have left town. Bintulu is an industrial town to which people have moved in order to work in any of the various industries. So for their holidays they return to their homes to visit the family left behind.
The Hari Gawai that we talked about last week began at midnight Sunday night. Those who did not leave to visit their birthplaces or long houses began their celebrations then.
We were invited to Brother Joseph's home Monday morning about 10:00 AM where we were treated to their traditional foods---rice, chicken curry, bee hoon noodles, and various sweets and savory snacks. From Brother Joseph's home we went to Brother Mudus' home where his wife, Sister Misyong, treated us to about the same. And then on to Pilet and Pauline, then Jalil and Kabi, and Malia. Each home we would go to the group would get larger as people joined us. And at each home we were served the same foods which are traditional. We visited and played games. When we could not eat another bite we tried to anyway so that we would not offend the hostess who had spent some time putting the feast together. About 2 PM the elders went with us to visit Nani at her family's long house not too far from Bintulu in a little town of Sebuah. (You can find that on googleearth just a little east and north of Bintulu. Photos at the site.) Again the same food. Guess they do that all week. I love curry but I don't think I will be eating any more soon.
Since so many of the branch members were gone we didn't make other visits during the week and I didn't teach any piano lessons. No one at home. We had plenty of other projects to work on. I prepared the invitations and programs for a 'hand over' ceremony we are planning for June 16th. It is handing over 250 wheel chairs to one of the Rotary clubs here in Bintulu. We also went to see the progress on a project we are working on with the Salvation Army to install playground equipment at a children's home. Nothing going on there---everyone is on holiday.
So our trip into the jungle. . . Our overnight trip turned out to be a one day trip and WHAT a trip. We left about 8 AM (after a false start at 6 AM when our transport or driver didn't show) in a Hilux which are their Toyota trucks here. It has 4 doors so there was room for the 6 of us who went with one man riding in the back. It was supposed to be about a 5 or 6 hour trip but we had a crazy driver (his truck, too) and we covered the 100 miles in less than 3 hours. About 2/3 of the distance was on what they call logging road.

You would not believe the roads we went on!! These are logging roads so we expected rough. It was a track--one lane except on some corners and at the tops of hills. Remember that people drive on the left here. Well, on this road we switched back and forth from left to right at the tops of those hills and on the corners depending on the arrow sign that we had to look really hard to find. We were fortunate that we had John El and his father (riding 'shotgun' in the back standing up) with us as guides. They are from the kampung we were going to visit and knew when to go left or right. The driver was flying. I was praying. Bill was having the time of his life. We were both thinking how much our sons would have enjoyed the trip.

BRIDGE THAT JOINES THE TWO SIDES OF THE KAMPUNG

We arrived safely at Data Kakus which is the name of the village or kampung of the Kenyah Badong people who live there. We were greeted by Elizabeth and welcomed into her home. She had tea and warm bread for us. We explained that we don't drink tea and water would be just fine (hoping their water was 'clean') but she brought out something that tasted like strawberry milk. Warm strawberry milk. Very refreshing, actually.

This picture is of Elizabeth's sister, Sami, carrying her baby. Elizabeth makes these carriers and had many hanging on her walls. Most had tiger claws as decorations. Others had coins and little bells as decorations.

 BABY CARRYING METHOD OF THE KENYAH

So the purpose for our visit was to check out their water system and see if there was something we could help them with to improve it. They use a gravity flow system from a reservoir about 2 miles up a hill. During the monsoon it washes out so they have to use the river water about 4 months of the year and they get sick using that. So several village headmen and Bill headed off up to the reservoir to check it out. I stayed with Elizabeth and she and I walked the village. We visited lots of people along the way and all were very friendly (and curious---they don't see too many white people back there and I know why) except for the pastor of their church (Anglican). I believe Elizabeth told him we were from another church and come to help them. We saw women drying rice on woven mats sitting in the shade and holding long poles to shoo the chickens away from their rice. Some of the older women have the long earlobes from wearing weighted brass earrings. I tried to get a photo of one but don't think I got the dangly lobes. We visited the school, and also saw them 'threshing' their rice. They use generators for power. They raise most of what they eat (have to buy sugar and 'strawberry milk') and seem to be very self-reliant. Their cash crop is palm oil which they sell to a broker and vegetables which they sell at the market. But they have this water problem. I hope we can help them.

A WILD BOAR TRAP

Elizabeth is quite a person. She sings and is a leader of their woman's group at their church. She takes care of medical problems, dispensing medications she gets from her sister-in-law, and has even 'taken two babies' and stitched up gaping wounds. She is 37 years old and has 4 children, went to university in Kuala Lumpur, and does beautiful handcrafts of bead work and baskets. She gave me one of the traditional beaded necklaces that she had made. Wow! As we visited, her children and others were nearby watching a Jim Carrey DVD. I even saw a few satellite dishes which they call parabolas. All are powered by generator.

This is a picture of a woman walking back from her garden. She has her tools and whatever she picked from the garden in her basket.

BACK FROM THE GARDEN

I will let Bill fill you in on the hike. He surprised himself with his endurance. Glad I stayed with Elizabeth.

Bill here. The only way I survived this hike in the Jungle is through prayer. If you can imagine hiking up a mountain in a very dense jungle inside a sauna that is what it was like. We were all soaking wet from head to toe and exhausted from the very beginning all the way through. I am quite surprised I am still alive. The problem is I know this is only the first of many as we check out different village's water systems.
This village is about 1850 people and about 250 homes. They have their own school and church. It is 95 miles back into the jungle completely away from all signs of civilization whatsoever. It was just amazing to us to visit these people. They are so happy and kind, completely isolated from the typical cares of our busy world.

 

DATA KAKUS

This is a picture of their village and as you can see they are up in the mountains. It was a bit cooler there than here in Bintulu. They have a cement road through part of the village and raised board walkways so they can get around when the water is running a foot deep everywhere. All the houses are built up on stilts and have standing water beneath them as well as assorted chickens, boards, and other stuff.
Their water system is great. It provides water for all the people 8 months of the year. When the monsoons hit the water is not able to get down the pipes as it is filled up with debris and then they bath, wash and drink out of the river. Illness soars during this time of the year. Therein lies the problem and we will try to help them.

It was another great week.