SPE Brunei chairperson Najaa-Hussalaam (C), accompanied by SCOT founder Anwar Mohammad, hands over a cheque to Eddy Safwan, in front of his renovated house.
DANIEL WOOD
TUTONG
Monday, October 14, 2013
Efforts to improve quality of life of the underprivileged
DESPITE already helping a family renovate their home deep in TutongDistrict, the Society for Community Outreach and Training (SCOT) acknowledge that many challenges remain for the single parent and his two children.
During the handover visit on Saturday to Eddy Safwan, a retired army personnel living in rural Tutong with two young children, Eddy expressed satisfaction over the new toilet facilities and extension of kitchen to his home.
Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE Brunei) committee member Ting Hie told The Brunei Times that they had immediately agreed to SCOT’s renovation proposal when first approached earlier in the year, given that they had seen photographs of Eddy’s old home: “I saw the condition of the toilet and the kitchen… only pots and pans with a hole in the middle (for the toilet). So I said, just proceed.”
SCOT is also pursuing Phase I of its “SCOT-Agriculture” project, where they are trialling a small chicken rearing project with Eddy, in hopes that it would generate a more sustainable income for the longer term. Having built a chicken coop in 2012, they also supplied 10 chicks in mid-2013. The idea was to provide supplementary income through the sale of kampung chicken to villagers nearby.
“They’re growing well now, and in about six months they’ll be old enough. But at the moment, the cost of rearing them is quite high for me and I could actually lose money selling them at market price,” said Eddy.
“I agree with SCOT’s mission… but perhaps we could support farmers like Eddy by looking at the supply chain. Getting orders, booking for delivery… people in Kuala Belait and Seria, like us, we all want this sort of chicken,” commented Ting.
SCOT project manager Nurul Wadaah Mohd Noor concluded that the handover was part of a long journey for their maiden project in helping underprivileged families in Brunei, but told of the challenges in seeking funding.
“We went around with our proposals looking for funding. JAPEM gave some money and we also had our charity sales but it was only when SPE stepped in did we have enough to begin,” said Nurul.
Two officials from the Department of Community Development (JAPEM-Tutong), who were also contributors to the renovation project, discussed several ongoing developments with other underprivileged families with SCOT. According to SCOT member Md Khairul Azmi Md Salleh, the district authorities also faced the same problem when trying to locate contractors to undertake improvement projects in rural areas, as lower-quality access roads and distance added to logistical costs.
“Whenever you find someone to help, you can’t find a contractor… They don’t want to take the risks,” said Md Khairul.
The Brunei Times
Source: The Brunei Times
Author: Daniel Wood
Published Date: 14 October 2013