WUJ Kampong Clean-Up Oct '19
Hi all,
Praise be to God, for WUJ Kampong Clean-Up was able to resume at least until the end of 2019, God Willing! And the clean-up for October was slightly more unique as we had a film crew with us!
Evan
Indra
Karter
Max
Praise be to God, for WUJ Kampong Clean-Up was able to resume at least until the end of 2019, God Willing! And the clean-up for October was slightly more unique as we had a film crew with us!
Joining me was a group of film students from Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) who found out about what I have been doing on Ubin and wanted to conduct an interview, or rather documentary, about me and my Ubin journey. As a matter of fact, the director for the second-year film project was my former secondary schoolmate, Nicholas.
To be fair, the calling for volunteers for this month's clean-up was extremely last minute and I really wasn't expecting any turnout, but I was very happy to have Padget joining me. Padget initially went around asking for volunteering opportunities on Ubin after she developed a sense of adoration for the island and some of her friends referred to me and my kampong clean-up project!
I had a place in mind to help out once we have reached the island. It had been an extremely long time since I saw Nenek Jariah returning to her home; as word of mouth suggested that she had been unwell. Fortunately enough, upon reaching her home in Kampong Sungei Durian, not only was Nenek Jariah there but her daughter, Cik Midah and brother, Cik Ibrahim was also at home relaxing at their verandah. It turns out that they also just returned to the island the very same day I came to offer my help - coincidence is always a fun thing to experience, huh? But this won't be the only time coincidence worked in our favour; more on that in just a bit.
Rakes on one side and film equipment on the other. Photo courtesy of Padget
But before we got ourselves started with the cleanup, I was told that Cik Kamariah was at home, too. I brought the group over to introduce themselves to her and it was also discovered that there was a cooking class being conducted. I later found out that the cooking class was part of the Malay Culture Fest, organised by the Malay Heritage Centre. According to the information provided by the museum in their brochure, the cooking class was organised for visitors to "come and discover some of the common flora that goes into Malay cooking" and to "learn how to forage for ingredients in this one of a kind cooking class held in Pulau Ubin".
Nicholas knew that having shots of the cooking class can help him with his film's focus on revitalising efforts for the Malay kampong (the other one, being my kampong clean-up), and so half of his crew was sent to document the cooking class, while he and the other half joined me and Padget back to Nenek Jariah's house to get started with our clean-up.
Raking is therapeutic, you know? Photo courtesy of Nicholas
Our task was simple; also because of the manpower we had, hehe: rake away the leaves off the courtyards of Nenek Jariah's house. What makes Nenek Jariah's courtyards slightly more unique is that the path leading into the rest of Kampong Sungei Durian happens to be right next to her home, so when we cleared the leaves off the path, we couldn't help but feel that we were helping to welcome visitors and passersby in by revealing a path straight in. Oh, and yes the crew was also busy taking footage of us cleaning up the place, too.
Right this way to see Kampong Sungei Durian!
After about an hour, we were pretty satisfied with how clear the path and courtyards were and Nenek Jariah and her family members were very happy! After an exchange of gratitude between us and the residents, we bade farewell to them and moved back to Cik Kamariah's house to take a look at how the cooking class was going.
The smell in the air was so appetising and the visitors were all busy having a try at making Nasi Ulam. Meanwhile, Cik Kamariah invited us up into her home and treated us to their signature snacks, kuihs and even the Nasi Ulam, too!
Everyone got treated to the Nasi Ulam, and fresh kaffir lime tea to quench our thirsts too!
My only regret is not taking more sambal, because it was probably among the most delicious sambal I've ever tasted!
It was a very nice and calming way to cool down after our hard work at the clean-up, but lo and behold, we were later invited to get our hands cold by making our own ice kachangs!
Did you know that Ice Kachang actually originated from Japan and that the Ice Kachang machine was brought here by Japanese soldiers back in WWII?
It was probably the most happening kampong clean-up so far, and I was very happy that Padget, Nicholas and his crew got to immerse themselves in the awesome environment of the Malay kampong. It moved me to know that all of them thoroughly enjoyed their time on Ubin and I was just very pleased to see them putting in their best kampong spirit for the people here.
Even as a former filmmaker myself, I can't help but feel nervous sitting in front of a camera set-up.
I look forward to seeing what Nicholas has pieced together in his film and if it's allowed, then I can't wait to share it with all of you, too! Just like any other clean-up or even meet-up with me on Ubin, I'm so very thankful for the time spent and memories made.
My sincerest and heartfelt appreciation to the following hero and heroine for making WUJ Kampong Clean-Up Oct '19 a special and meaningful one:
✵✵✵
Evan
Indra
Karter
Max
Nicholas
Padget
✵✵✵
Our next kampong clean-up will be on November 23rd, 2019. Register for FREE now!
More photos of this month's kampong clean-up available on WUJ's Facebook photo album here!
Read up on the previous clean-up here!
May Pulau Ubin thrive again, with its people in its heart.
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Have any enquiries? Send an email to wansubinjournal@gmail.com
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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!
Sign up immediately here! https://bit.ly/wujkcu19
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