KUCHING: The Charity Without Borders (CWB) No. 11 convoy returned to Bintulu earlier this week after a challenging 600km journey into the remote areas of Ulu Baram.
Hope Place Kuching organises CWB No. 11, a collaborative effort of Kelab Cabaran Pacuan 4 Roda Bintulu and other 4×4 clubs in East Malaysia.
This year’s mission focused on reaching Long Silat in Ulu Baram, with visits to the Long Betoa, Long Tikan and Long Bee villages.
These villages are home to more than 500 Penans in 150 households.
This year’s convoy included 4×4 clubs across Sarawak and Brunei alongside Hope Place. Doctors from Jabatan Kesihatan Negeri Sarawak (JKNS), dentists from the Malaysian Dental Association Eastern Zone, and representatives from Ibraco joined them.
The convoy, consisting of 137 modified 4×4 vehicles and over 300 volunteers, departed Miri at 5am after a 12-hour journey arrived at Long Tikan around 5pm last Friday.
JKNS brought 20 doctors to the Penan villages for health screenings, the largest medical team ever involved in this initiative.
In the early hours of Saturday morning, doctors, including two specialists, an ophthalmologist and a cardiologist, were among the JKNS team, and dentists set up their stations at Long Tikan.
Long Bee and Long Betoa villagers gathered at Long Tikan for the much-anticipated health checks, while residents from Long Jekitan made the journey by longboat.
The 4×4 clubs sponsored their fuel to ensure they could access the screenings.
A total of 200 villagers received health checks, and 50 teeth were extracted during the session.
According to the doctors, some villagers showed signs of chronic illnesses and were strongly advised to visit Miri Hospital for further tests and treatment.
However, this poses a significant challenge for many, as the round trip between their villages and Miri costs over RM500, a steep expense for most residents.
In addition to healthcare services, Hope Place organised a children’s programme featuring educational and fun activities and distributed over 300 Christmas gifts and 250 sets of school supplies.
The NGO also provided each village with soccer and sepak takraw equipment and board games to be kept in their community halls for everyone to enjoy.
This year’s collaboration with the Kuching NGO included Ibraco Berhad, the main sponsor contributing RM40,000 worth of food aid, Sarawak Energy Berhad providing 130 life jackets, and Sam Fah Enterprise Sdn Bhd donating school supplies, Hoe Guan Scaffolding & Trading Sdn Bhd contributing 15 fire extinguishers, individual donors from Miri and Bintulu assisting with additional food aid, and the Sarawak Tourism Board granting RM40,000 to Kelab Cabaran Pacuan 4 Roda Bintulu specifically for the event.
