Exchanging ASEAN Cultures through Volunteerism and Community Engagement

Exchanging ASEAN Cultures through

volunteerism and community engagement

By Kampung Dew Group, AYVP 2013

Do you feel ASEAN?

Ninety-seven volunteers from the ten member countries of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) flew to Malaysia to participate a -week volunteer programme, the ASEAN Youth Volunteer Programme (AYVP). This pool of volunteers is aged 18-30 and comprised of university students, NGO workers, environmental activists, and private employees. The programme runs from August 15 to September 20, which includes lectures, volunteer service, and community engagement. 

  

What is AYVP?

ASEAN Youth Volunteer Programme (AYVP) is an instrument that would create opportunities for youth across the region to work together by helping communities; and as they do this, they learn about each other and strengthen intercultural relationships. This is an inaugural programme primarily funded by USAID with Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (The National University of Malaysia) as its primary driver. AYVP envisions to produce eco-leaders with competencies and skills in leadership and environmental conservation, and empowered with ASEAN values as well as a love for community engagement.

On the second week, the volunteers were divided into four groups and sent to four different biodiversity sites: Kampung Dew, Mersing, Setiu, and Kuala Selangor. A group of 24 was assigned to Kampung Dew, Taiping under the leadership of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Norela Sulaiman with a theme on firefly conservation and community-based ecotourism. To meet this theme, the group has so far created multimedia products aiming to promote the fireflies and Kampung Dew as an ecotourism spot. 

A warm welcome from the local community in Kampung Dew. The true touch of Malaysian Hospitality

Kampung Dew and Its Fireflies

Kg Dew is a small fishing village situated beside Sungai Sepatang whose people rely much on agriculture and fishing. In recent years, the village received the spotlight for being a famous tourist attraction for firefly watching. Along the river banks of Sungai Sepetang are bioluminescent beetles, Pteroptyx tener, which congregate mainly in Berembang trees (Sonneratia caseolaris) and Nipah (Nypah fruticans). These trees serve as their habitat and source of food. The synchronized flashing which mimics a glittering Christmas tree is believed to be part of their courtship ritual. 

Briefing of Dr. Norela Suleiman on what objectives should we fulfill for this boatride.

Off to see the majestic firefly colonies along the riverbank of Sungai Sepetang (One Evening River).

The life cycle of firefly (Pteroptyx tener) lasts for 6 months. The adult live for only two weeks,

 (L: Fruit of Sonneratia caseolaris locally known as Berembang, a mangrove tree species that is significantly important to fireflies being their habitat and major source of food. R: Picture of Berembang tree.)

 Threats and Conservation

The fireflies along the Sungai Sepetang are facing several threats mainly brought by human intervention such as land conversion, habitat destruction, water pollution and climate change. These threats destroy the ecosystem of the river making it unproductive not only to fireflies but to other flora and faunal species that it supports too. The impact of these threats has been evident in the past years as noted by the local people that the fireflies along the riverbank are fewer than before. Conservation efforts to restore the firefly population have been initiated since 2010 by UKM. These include replanting of Berembang trees participated by the community and a local organization called KECAP (Kelip-Kelip Cahaya Alam Perak).

Volunteer Works

To better equip the boatmen to become effective tour guides, the volunteers have been holding basic English language lessons every other night since in their first week. The training served eight boatmen who are expected to be able to converse withto foreign visitors in English. In an effort also to help restore the firefly, a Berembang replanting activity was conducted last September 1, 2013 with Prof. Dato’ Saran Kaur Gill, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor of UKM. Fifty-two seedlings were replanted that day. This is a small number compared to 10,000 seedlings that have to be replanted for the full restoration of Sungai Sepatang’s Mangrove area. Together with the local community, the group is planning to replant more Berembang seedlings before the end of their stay. The starting point of firefly tour, pale jetty, was enhanced through repainting, adding ornamental plants, and a mural at the front.

The Showcase of Signage

 

An up-close showcase of the signage of my Luciola team. Standing (L-R): Maxie from Laos, Fir from Brunei, Soknim from Cambodia, Cyro (Me) from Philippines. Sitting (L-R): Linda from Malaysia, Tutu from Myanmar.

Cultural exchange through homestay programme

The unique feature of this site is the homestay programme. Volunteers were distributed among ten families who pledged to welcome them. This part of the programme is expected to facilitate smooth cultural exchange and up-close interaction and firsthand experience of Malay culture. “It was a great experience. I was laughing a lot. They are very accommodating and treated me as if I were their son. The major obstacle was the language barrier since the local people don’t speak English. However, I still have some sort of undeniable connection with my foster family,” said Laurence Lloyd Lumagbas from the Philippines. This is also an opportunity for the locals to maintain their cultural heritage and traditional activities. “By developing that sense of oneness as a community, the locals realized the importance of their culture,” said Rungtip Junlah from Thailand.

My foster family who live in Kampung Pa'dulo. L-R: Linh from Vietnam, Kamila from Malaysia, Ain (our foster sister), Ibu (mother), Imran (our foster bro), cyRo, and Laurence from Philippines.

 

Learning local culture through foster family.

  

Awareness talk to high school students

The volunteers also visited SMK Mudzaffar Shah, a public high school on September 5 to give a talk about four topics: (a) ASEAN, AYVP, and Volunteerism, (b) Firefly and Its Habitat, (c) Threats and Conservation, and (d) Waste Segregation and Sanitation. With more than a hundred participants, the activity aimed to engage the students with the volunteers and to increase their awareness about firefly and the ASEAN. By this activity, the volunteers introduced the ASEAN identity and inculcated in them the spirit of sharing through volunteerism. The volunteers inspired the students to learn English for them to be able to communicate to future ASEAN volunteers.

Engagement with the villagers

September 7 – a group initiative to hold a seminar-workshop on solid waste management, composting and “art from scrap” was attended by 15 villagers. The presentation of Mya Thandar Thu from Myanmar about waste management through social enterprise discussed the principles on how to gain revenue by collecting and selling rubbish. “This approach would create a sustainable and responsible culture for waste management for the betterment of the environment. This would have an impact to firefly conservation as well [in Sungai Sepatang],” said Thu. The major problem in Kampung Dew is the absence of waste collection system added to other minor problems such as open burning, lack of facilities, and disposal of garbage to the river. In response to these concerns, proper composting was demonstrated to lessen the degree of the problem, and its benefits to the environment were also discussed.

Project Proposals

The volunteers are also developing proposals on solid waste management and ecotourism which will be implemented by the community, UKM, or other stakeholders in the future. Before developing the proposal, the volunteers performed several interviews with local residents, current and former state policy makers, current and former village heads and political parties to obtain the pertinent data to support the proposals. The purpose of this proposal is to help the community develop Kampung Dew as an eco-tourism attraction through applying the principles of eco-tourism and maintaining a cleaner environment.

A Senegalese conservationist, Baba Dioum, once said “We conserve only what we love, we love only what we understand, we understand only when we are taught.” As ASEAN Youth Eco-leaders bid their farewell in Kampung Dew, they hope to have left the ASEAN feeling to all the people they met in their three-week stay. 

More Photos

They say a picture is a thousand word. To make a narrative of my 3-week journey in Kampung Dew with these wonderful people from across ASEAN who bring with them a unique personality, a thousand word would not enough. Twenty-four young, FRESH, individuals bridging the gap of boundaries, cultures, and tradition, the true ASEAN feeling indeed!

Working with my teammates to create visual aids for our training session with boatmen.

Cutting the plywood for the signage.

Just a plain picture-taking to forget the busy work. Echos!

 

 Photos courtesy of Maxie from Laos. :)... This article was written for a local newspaper. :)