Second food aid for Penans

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LUSONG LAKU: The more than 8,000kg of essential food for the hungry Penans living in the heart of Kapit Division in remote central Sarawak finally reached its destinations yesterday – after four days of dangerous and pains-taking journey across steep mountain roads and deep valleys.

The food-aid mission, organised by the Miri Catholic Church and with financial aid from people across Malay-sia, saw 1,300 Penans in the Lusong Laku Penan Settlement receiving the eight tonnes of rice, biscuit, noodles, salt, sugar, milk-powder and Milo that can last them for at least a month.

This is the second consignment of food relief sent to them by a motley crew of volunteers made up of Belaga Parish priest Reverend Father Sylvester Ding, Bakun community leader Penghulu Saging Bit, 12 volunteers from the Kuala Lumpur-based Malaysian Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association and drivers from the Sungai Asap Resettlement Scheme and Shin Yang and Samling logging consortiums.

Thankful: Lusong Laku’s Penan Settlement folk receiving the food aid sent by Father Ding (right) and other volunteers Wednesday.

The team also invited The Star to join them in the mission.

Four days ago, more than 10 tonnes of similar food-aid were sent to Long Tanyit, Long Lidem, Long Kajang and Long Abit, four settlements located not far from the Sarawak-Indonesian border. That first round of relief mission took three days to complete.

The food were bought by church members using funds from kind-hearted donors from throughout the country after The Star highlighted a plea from these Penans who had sought help from the church in Miri.

Father Ding said the church had utilised only 20% of the donations so far. There are still more than 1,000 bags of rice in Miri for the Penans. We will deliver them in stages.

Lusong Laku Penan chief Jati Jarang said he and his people were grateful to God and to the people of Malaysia for answering their appeals for help.

“For a month, we never have enough to eat. Many Penans from other areas also came here hoping for food. We do not have enough money to buy rice or cooking oil,” he said.

Asked why the food shortage had reached such serious levels, he said severe drought, crop failure and depleting forest resources had affected their livelihood.