By Zaphne Philip
BARAM: Embracing change is no mean feat for the Penan especially when their villages are nestled deep in the rainforest.
To gain access to education, they have to use the logging road and traverse through rough terrain or trek into the mountains before reaching the nearest town. There are obstacles along the way especially during the monsoon season when the access non-tarred, logging road turns muddy.
These are stark realities for the traditionally nomadic Penan community, situated deep in the remote interior of Ulu Baram, Miri. Most of them are now sedentary and are now engaged in economic activities which carve out a new way of interacting with the environment.
As early as 7.45 am, Atika Fazila was already standing outside Tadika SeDidik Penan, as she waited patiently for her pupils to arrive, before the session starts at 8 am and ends around 11 am.
Tadika SeDidik Penan, which operates from a single-storey concrete building, is situated at the Penan settlement in Long Jenalong, about 200 kilometres from Miri town.
At the sight of the children aged between four to six years, the 23-year old teacher flashed a radiant smile at each of the seven young learners in vibrant orange and white uniforms, running happily towards her.
The Penan preschoolers under her care were energetically greeting her ‘Selamat Pagi Cikgu!’ as they reached the front door of the Tadika SeDidik Penan, and some were hugging Atika, reflecting the warm teacher-pupil ties.
They were bursting with energy and enthusiasm as they entered their classroom. Subsequently, Atika, together with the pupils stood still as they sang the national anthem, Negaraku.
“This is our daily routine filled with various preschool activities and games that will keep the kids busy, engaged and learning from 8 am to 11 am,” said Atika, who grew up in the Long Jenalong village.
There was excitement on their faces as they read the alphabets, counting and colouring; some sang the traditional children’s songs such as ‘Bangun Pagi’ and ‘Rumah Kecil Saya’ as well as creating products from used materials and playing traditional games such as congkak, etc.
For four hours in class, they were all full of zest and were eager to learn new things in a fun way; no signs of boredom and they were not even whining or crying as their parents were not waiting for them outside the kindergarten.
“The walls inside the kindergarten are also decorated with the children’s artworks to create a welcoming and stimulating learning environment for the kids. They seem to be happy and are learning to make friends with one another,” she told Bernama.
Winds of change
Early education, which is essential to childhood development, is seen as a catalyst for change for the Penan community in Miri. For the Penan in the far-flung village in Long Jenalong, home to 154 families, early education is an entirely new experience. There are 33 Penan longhouses in the settlement.
Preschool education at kindergartens was previously inaccessible to the villagers in Long Jenalong, who only knew the 3M basic education skills (reading, writing and arithmetic) starting from Year One.
The nearest kindergarten for them is at Long Bedian, which houses a primary school, with a distance of about half an hour during a hot weather, but could stretch up to more than one hour in heavy rain as they have to traverse the logging road, with no available transport.
However, the winds of change have blown across the Long Jenalong settlement since 2020 through a Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) initiative in collaboration with the Sarawak state government (Petronas-Sarawak JWC), with the construction of Tadika SeDidik through the Community Education Programme (Penan).
The kindergarten has brought significant changes to the village community, especially in giving the young Penan, exposure to the 3M basic education skills besides allowing them to interact with others before stepping into the real school life.
Sharing her life story, Atika said, “My parents could not send me to the kindergarten in Long Bedian due to financial constraints and transport problem and I only learned the basic 3M when I was seven years old during Year One and was forced to stay in the hostel at a young age.”
“I was struggling to grasp the lessons during my first year in school having had no exposure to early education, and the medium of instruction was Malay, which is not our mother tongue,” she recalled.
Atika said that it was during the moments of adversity that she strengthened her resolve for self-empowerment and to help improve the livelihood of her family and the Penan community.
“My own experience is the catalyst for change; I decided to be an educator and teach Penan children so that they receive basic early education as this serves to prepare them for primary school. I know how difficult it was to go to school without the foundation of early childhood education,” she added.
Atika, who has been teaching Penan children at the kindergarten since 2020, is currently pursuing her Diploma in Early Childhood at the Open University Malaysia (OUM) via online, with her studies fully sponsored by the Sarawak state government.
She also said that it is crucial that she equips herself with various skills, knowledge, psychological aspects as well as the best teaching techniques, to allow her to teach pre-schoolers on the essential life skills and prepare them for school life.
Not an easy feat
Teaching pre-schoolers is not an easy feat. You need patience, strength and calm personality to deal with a class full of young ones all day long. But it is also satisfying to know that a pre-schooler’s future depends on the teacher.
As such, various preschool classroom tools and strategies are adopted to attract Penan preschoolers to learn as well as to ensure their full attendance.
So far, early childhood education activities conducted at the kindergarten have proven effective, said Atika, noting that the children have shown their eagerness to learn even when their parents no longer wait for them outside class.
Atika together with other teachers would teach based on the preschool syllabus and the children’s capabilities. They would not make the young ones learn throughout as some kids prefer to draw rather than learning alphabets and some are also slow learners.
“Despite having seven children under our care, there are also challenges as the syllabus has to be based on their age. To ensure the best results, I try to identify their strengths and weaknesses.
“They are always afraid especially when Malay is not spoken daily among the community. However, with the right approach, we managed to build their self-confidence and pique their interest in learning,” said Atika, who has been teaching at the kindergarten for three years.
Albeit the challenges, Atika said parents in Long Jenalong are determined to see their children succeed and as such they are prepared to take the extra mile to take their children to school.
With hostel facilities, children in the remote interior are able to pursue their education at the primary school in Long Bedian and the secondary school in Long Lama.
“There’s no boarding facility in Long Bedian and as such, many parents here could not send their kids for preschool education. The nearest secondary school is located in Long Lama, which takes the students about two hours to reach the school under favourable weather condition.
“However, the journey becomes tougher and takes longer than usual during rainy days as the logging road becomes slippery, but these are some of the challenges that we have to face to receive our education. However, we believe that resilience can get you through the most difficult of challenges you face in life,” she said.
Precious gift
Meanwhile, assistant teacher Norita Simon, 32, said she remains committed to helping the Penan children achieve their full potential by ensuring they have access to quality education.
“Rain or shine, we have to go to work as we have a heavy responsibility on our shoulders,” said Norita as she related an incident which she experienced on her way to the kindergarten, adding that she sustained slight injuries after her father’s motorcycle she was riding in the rain got into an accident.
“A motorbike ride from my village at Long Latie took only 15 minutes but due to the rain, the road turned muddy and was not easily accessible. I was grateful that it was only a minor accident, and while I was drenched with my clothes covered in mud, I still went to work for the sake of the children,” she added.
“Accidents do happen and there are risks involved with riding a motorcycle, but we can only afford a motorbike. I believe that difficulties make our lives challenging, but the very same difficulties make us strong,” she said, noting that her present job at the kindergarten kept her passion for teaching alive.
Meanwhile, Long Jenalong village chief Ugat Kong, 67, described the opening of Tadika SeDidik Penan as a ‘precious gift’ for the Penan community, providing them with a new lease of life as they are now able to send their children for early education.
The nomadic Penan are believed to have settled at Long Jenalong deep in the jungle of Baram in the 1960s. The man who brought the people there is Ugat Kong.
Today, the people rely largely on agriculture as their source of livelihood. However, with no fixed income, they could not afford to send their children to the kindergarten in Long Bedian due to financial and transport difficulties.
In fact, poverty has caused many Penan children to drop out of school despite being given hostel facilities.
“A one-way fare to Long Bedian is RM3 for adults and RM2 for children using a four-wheel drive. However, with no fixed income, we can’t afford to send our children to the kindergarten daily.
“This is one of the reasons why many Penan children have dropped out of school and could not complete their studies. Early education at this kindergarten is free, as such we don’t have to worry about the fees, what’s important is parents should realise the importance of sending their children for early education,” said Ugat.
Petronas-Sarawak initiative
Tadika SeDidik Long Jenalong is one of five kindergartens that are built under Petronas Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative in collaboration with the Sarawak state government (Petronas-Sarawak JWC).
Four other preschools are located in Kampung Long Kawa, Kampung Long Leng, Kampung Long Kerangan and Kampung Ba’ Selulong.
Construction of the kindergartens in the five remote Penan settlements began in 2016 and was completed in 2020 at a cost of RM2.75 million.
Tadika SeDidik, which was formerly known as Community Education Programme (Penan) for Apoh/Tutoh area under Petronas sponsorship is a community based programme in care-giving, guidance and education, with focus on local community engagement.
In July 2020, the kindergarten was taken over and administered by Sedidik Sdn Bhd, an early childhood education and care institution, in line with the acquisition of Sedidik by the Sarawak Ministry of Women, Children and Community Wellbeing Development, and was officiated by Sarawak Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg in July this year.
Sarawak Minister of Women, Children and Community Wellbeing Development Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah was quoted as saying the state government under the SeDidik initiative will give emphasis on access, equity and quality in preschool education.
Currently, 112 out of 152 teachers in Early Childhood Education possess degrees and diplomas while 40 are undergoing the course. – BERNAMA
