WUJ Kampong Clean-Up May '19

Hi all,

This post is also pretty overdue for May's kampong clean-up which took place on May 25th, 2019, but at least now I'm blessed with extra free time so might as I well I document it here on WUJ before the memories of the day fade away, hehe.

To be honest, we were in the midst of the fasting month and just a few days away from celebrating Hari Raya Aidilfitri so I was actually thinking about going on a break for this month as well. But after knowing that our resident, Cik Rosmala and husband Cik Munir, were in the final laps of renovating their home, I went ahead to offer assistance in clearing whatever that needed to be cleared that day to make sure their home is ever-ready for Hari Raya and also for Pesta Raya@Ubin as well.

This month we saw a special group of people joining us - members from the Majulah Community! I actually had the pleasure of meeting them just a few weeks before after they have invited me over to their office in Geylang for a chit-chat session and wanted to know more on ways that we could collaborate to provide a lasting impact on the community by engaging and involving our youths, possibly our Malay/Muslim youths, too. After that meeting, I was happy to know that they were extremely supportive of my cause here on Pulau Ubin and that they were very interested to join in one of our kampong clean-ups. So for this month, they finally had the opportunity to join me!

Cik Rosmala usually was only on Ubin every other Wednesday as Cik Munir would be on off from work on that day, but she made her way down that Saturday to help facilitate us for the clean-up. The last thing we wanted was to throw away the wrong things, too! Anyway, remember the army men and women from the previous clean-up in April, well they returned again this month, too. By now, these faces have really become regulars of WUJ Kampong Clean-Up and I am eternally grateful for their constant and consistent support thus far.

We started off with quite the hardcore stuff first such as the removal of unwanted wooden planks that were either damaged by termites or leftovers from their construction/renovation. Which reminds me, I need to mention something extremely special about Cik Rosmala and Cik Munir and their home.

The house that Cik Rosmala resides in now originally belonged to her cousin. However, in the early 2000s, a tall durian tree collapsed right on her home and it had been untouched for a while. They did manage to rebuild the house, but only a third of the size. This was the case for quite some time, too. As Cik Rosmala always frequented Ubin for her fishing escapades, her cousin decided to offer her the house. Cik Rosmala being a true blue Ubin descendant, was thrilled to know that she could reside on Ubin once more after her kampong house was demolished following the eviction in the 1980s through '90s. Since then, Cik Rosmala and Cik Munir lived together in the small but cosy house.

With her husband's vast carpentry skills, the couple finally decided to rebuild the house to its original size sometime in the mid 2010s. Occupied and busy with his own job, Cik Munir could only dedicate his day off from work to work on rebuilding their new home. Slowly but surely, their hard work came into fruition and accelerated greatly in 2019, to what we see today.

I guess Cik Rosmala and Cik Munir's home renovation project deserves an entirely new post as I believe this couple deserves recognition for their showcase of what it means to really have the Ubin blood in them. Even I myself am awestruck at the couple's dedication to really stay where their family roots grew.

Right, now back to the clean-up.

Last month, we had to remove Cik Bujang and Cik Habsah's small hut at the front yard, this month Cik Rosmala also requested for us to remove another significant part of her house - her outdoor kitchen. So, the strong men were tasked to demolish the already-fragile outdoor stove and it really came crumbling down.

In its place, Cik Rosmala would later plant some flowers and vegetables near the site to beautify the spot just a little bit more.

We also helped to remove some zinc panels at the back and we really helped to clear a lot of debris at the back, too. The coolest thing we found at the back was a harmless green tree snake munching on a huge lizard. The volunteers were pretty stoked at the sight, especially since we are pretty much only city folks. But, it was always heartwarming to see that we could really connect so well to nature, especially during such kampong clean-up projects.

In the end, we managed to help clear a lot of debris and unwanted construction waste from their home that day and we were very fatigued, especially since we were still fasting on that day. But for us, we knew that it was very well worth-it especially for the Muslims as we believed that any good deed done during Ramadan reaps multi-folds of rewards upon ourselves, too - so ain't that an extra bonus for us, spiritually!

And of course, a very special thank you to the following people for making WUJ Kampong Clean-Up May '19 a meaningful one:

✵✵✵

Adzhim
Ahmad Zaid

Barry

Cik Rosmala
EJ
Esteban
Hanisah
JX
Kim Bilous

✵✵✵

Photos from this month's kampong clean-up are available on WUJ's Facebook photo album here!

Read up on the previous kampong clean-up here!

Learn more about Majulah Community and join them in their causes here!

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

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Come join me on Ubin as a volunteer to clean up our kampongs! 

Find out more about WUJ Kampong Clean-Up!
https://wansubinjournal.blogspot.com/p/kampong-clean-up.html

Sign up immediately here!
https://www.facebook.com/events/310660792939011/

UPDATED: 13/02/2020 2:30PM