WUJ Updates!

Hi All!

My sincere apologies for the lack of updates on this blog, but please don't fret as I should be updating over here pretty often quite soon (especially since I'm going to ORD in 3 weeks' time)! I was away for an overseas trip to Japan, a week after my homecoming event on November 11th, 2018. But as soon as I got back to Singapore, my wifi at home had been facing lots of technical difficulties, thus the reason why I wasn't active that much on Blogger given the inconvenience I have in blogging through mobile and data. There's definitely a lot of things to catch up on to keep WUJ really up to date; so here's a list of what I owe you hahaha:

1. Jom Balik Kampong Halaman

There had been so much hype about this homecoming event on WUJ, so I understand if some of you were or are upset over the lack of follow up pictures or videos of how the event went. One thing for sure, it was definitely a very fun-filled event and I definitely had loads of photos taken; by the way those photos look absolutely amazing thanks to the talents of my good friend, Jeffrey Cheng. 

Of course, photos aren't good enough so stay tuned on WUJ to also have my thoughts, reflections and review of how the homecoming event went in as full written detail as possible.

2. WUJTV

Wan's Ubin Journal TV or WUJTV is a totally new experiment for me as I was planning to put in Diploma in Digital Film and Television with Merit to good use, especially considering the fact that I have not made a film-related item since my graduation from poly nearly two years ago.

Anyway, I made a quick one-minute vlog on the house of Cik Zainal Bin Suraton, which is now under the care of Cik Ibrahim, whom I finally got to meet up with on Ubin just two weeks back from the time of this post. You might say I'm copying the style of Nas Daily, but I gotta admit that preparing videos that are just one-minute long is equally fun as it is challenging. I tried to make the video as informative and unique as possible to get the people's attention and I hope that this might branch out into something new for WUJ and for the people of Ubin, God Willing.

So, yup I owe you the video to be seen right here on WUJ (and even a whole new page on WUJ dedicated for this segment)

3. Kampong Surau Heritage Tour

I attended my second FUN meeting on December 6th, 2018 and this time round, the meeting was held on Pulau Ubin. As usual, people from all organisations who pour their interests and passion for Pulau Ubin came to discuss and present their ideas. I was happy to know that towards the end of the meeting, NParks had given me the green light to conduct regular heritage walks around Kampong Surau for those who wish to know more about the bustling Malay village that used to thrive on Pulau Ubin. God Willing, with the time I have after I ORD till the date when I pursue my further education in mid-2019, I will be conducting these tours on a monthly basis and might eventually pave the way for more heritage walks for Pulau Ubin.

4. Our Kampong Clean-Up Project (OK-CUP)

Our Kampong Clean-Up Project or OK-CUP is also another WUJ initiative that I wish to implement in 2019 to be held also on a monthly-basis on Ubin. This would be the first of such community outreach by WUJ as a form of homage to the larger Ubin community as a whole. OK-CUP consists of volunteers who would like to help and assist our residents in keeping their homes clean, which also involves trimming their plants, weeding the grass off of their homes and sweeping the leaves and branches off their lots. In future, should there be more support, we would assist them in disposing their bulky pre-loved items so that they may live comfortably in the comforts of their own kampong homes.

I had started off a pilot of this programme just recently on December 15th, 2018 and it was attended by just Sulaiman and I. Sulaiman is the son of Cik Habsah Sulong, who is also Pak Ahmad's direct neighbour in Kampong Sungei Durian and from our time together cleaning up on his mother's house - it really felt like we were long lost friends - or maybe it's just that special Ubin connection. I will be posting about the OK-CUP pilot soon so stay tuned to that as well! (I might still consider renaming this project so stay tuned when I do finalise it; just keep in mind it's like a coastal clean-up, except it's for kampongs)

5. WUJ 2018 Year-In-Review

Before you even realise, we are already at the very end of 2018 and I must say that this had been quite a year for me, so what better way for me to share with all of you than through a year-in-review post. 

I am currently in the midst of drafting it all up so that it may look cool and dandy and one thing for sure, WUJ wouldn't have been successful if were not for your continuous support in the things that I do for the community that grew up together with my grandparents and my mom.

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So yeah there you have it, those are the four main updates that I needed to share with all of you but I'd also like to remind you that WUJ is often a time more active on social media as well so please do follow me on Facebook and Instagram!

May Pulau Ubin thrive again, with its people in its heart.