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Local and International Volunteers

Habitat Kuching’s work is an ongoing battle against poverty housing. You can help by giving in cash or in kind (for example, by sponsoring materials such as bricks, windows, etc, or even giving good, used furniture). You can also give up some of your precious time and come build with our local and international volunteers, or help execute our plans by joining our Board (soon to be Habitat Resource Centre).

For more information, do call Angelina Tong at our office (082.242.700) or James Lo (james.lo@hfhkuching.org). You will be in illustrious company, such as former US President Jimmy Carter, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Rock Icon Jon Bon Jovi and even *squeal* Brad Pitt:

CONTACT US NOW!

Thank you very much for your kindness and compassion. Keep checking back on our website (or sign up for RSS notification) to keep up-to-date with our next event to raise funds and public awareness . . .

350 happy diners

We then launched into the entertainment for the evening, starting with SingleTrackMind’s first set. This was followed by the first part of the charity auction during which various desirable items such as Alex Wong’s guitar, a Jeroboam bottle of premium champagne, a dinner at the Junk Restaurant and two wooden decor/ furniture items from Asiana Gallery were sold. Full credit as well to G2000, 4 Points at Sheraton, Harbour View Hotel, Merdeka Palace Suites, Orchidwoods and the ArtSchool for sponsoring items for us to sell. In between the rockin’ sets, the crowd enjoyed a performance from the young girls of LayNa Ballet Academy.

Thanks once again to Global Upline Sdn Bhd (kudos especially to Datuk Danel Abong, Datu Yusof Hanifah and Mr Bobby Ting for rising to your Corporate Social Responsibility) who paid for the dinner; Terrace Jade at the Sarawak Club Golf Resort for staging an impeccable service; George and Roselyn Ling for crafting the menu and decor; Wine ‘n’ Liquor and Guinness Anchor Marketing for sponsoring the wine and beers; Les Paul Music Studio for the sound system and last but not least ThePlaygroundSydney for the gorgeous backdrop and dinner programme, without whom the dinner would not have been possible. Lest I forget, a big shout-out to Design Network Architects and Artemas Architects for their design assist, and of course Ron Lim, Georgette Tan and Edwin Lay, who toiled tirelessly and for no reward (they did not even have time to eat the scrumptious dinner that night!). Take a bow, people…

From my closing speech:

Months ago, this dinner was just a hope.  But as a black man who dreamed of being US President once wrote, sometimes if your hope is audacious enough, you just might succeed.

 Tonight we have raised a handsome amount for Habitat to continue with its mission.  Tomorrow we must hope for more.  A better world in which the breadwinners of the family can come home to a safe and restful environment.  A better world in which their children can play and study, with adequate hygiene and light, and space.  This is my hope.  To break the cycle of poverty, we must help these children emerge from their cocoons, like butterflies.

 Drive safely, and good night.

This afternoon, the board members and various helpers descended upon Terrace Jade banquet hall at Sarawak Club Golf Resort and got it ready - hanging up paintings from the students at The Art School, setting down centrepieces on the tables, and adding balloons to the atmosphere.

I won’t ramble on too much. I’ll just show you scenes from the afternoon’s preparations.

See you tonight!

Angelina and Eric talk while they prepare some balloons. Now my question is: Did anyone inhale helium and went around talking in a high squeaky voice yet?

Who would have thought that carrying a clothes dummy around would turn out to be such a... *cough* delicate matter? Where are those hands, Sam!

James takes a look at one of the photos Edwin is hanging up.

James checks the backing of a painting.

George and Roselyn of the Junk Restaurant (and Terrace Jade, the Golf Resort restaurant) are excitedly planning a fun-filled evening with great food for all — with a lot of help from Shentel Lee of theplaygroundsydney. Do check out her site, it’s absolutely fabulous!

Work, in the meantime, goes on. We’ve just hosted a Global Village (GV) team from Japan, capped off with a farewell dinner at Jambu Restaurant. Apparently Kuching is such a great destination that one of the GV team leaders who came last year, Alaine Bunce from England, wants to return and stay for around three months! Any kind soul would like to offer a roof over her head? Alaine will pay her own way — come on, let’s show her our famous Kuching hospitality!

I guess the key to fairly regular blogging is to keep the posts short and snappy. So I shall leave you with a cool shot of our very own pop/ rock star, Mr Alex Wong a.k.a. SingleTrackMind . . .

They were struggling to come up with the high cost of materials as Diloi was the sole breadwinner in the family. Rosita’s father has a piece of land at Kampung Petung, 22nd Mile, Kuching/ Serian Road. The father consented for them to build on his land. Their application was approved and, in July 2004, construction began. Many family members, friends, neighbours and volunteers worked on the house, including a Habitat Global Village team from Japan comprising of 11 English teachers. The 3-bedroom 20′ x 30′ concrete block house was completed and dedicated in November 2004. 

However, since 1999, Diloi had had numerous surgeries done to remove a recurring large tumour in his abdomen. In the middle of 2008, he was due for yet another surgery but unfortunately Diloi succumbed to the tumour on 9 May 2008. On his last day, Diloi had insisted to cook a “cha kueh teow” dinner for his family and he had also invited his parents-in-law. They had a good time that evening. Later that night, he passed away. 

Diloi has been a very responsible husband and father. When he knew about his worsening health condition, he made many plans to ensure that his family would be well taken care of: he started to clear the land next to his house to plant paddy, sugar cane and fruits so that his family would have a source of income; he has also started to build a chicken coop so they could rear chickens for their own consumption and for sale (unfortunately this was only half completed). Now, Rosita works diligently on the farm, which is her source of income. Their eldest daughter is a temporary school teacher. Their 2nd son is a general worker. Their 3rd and 4th sons are factory workers in Kuala Lumpur. The youngest one is only 9 years old. With Diloi’s passing and the loss of his income, the family faced trouble making their no-interest loan repayment to Habitat.

Move by their plight, Habitat Kuching’s President (2008/ 2009), Albert Law, took action. Calling upon the generosity and compassion of his church cell group, Albert collected more than RM1,600 and, just before Christmas last year, presented this sum to Rosita, to enable her to substantially repay her debt. Yet another way in which Habitat’s Board members are quietly helping the underprivileged. 

The dinner will be generously hosted by Global Upline Sdn Bhd. Entertainment for the evening will be provided by SingleTrackMind and LayNa Ballet Academy. There will also be fun events like a charity auction and a lucky draw.

Tickets are sold at only RM150 each, and are available from the HfH office (please call Angelina Tong on 082 242 700).

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The Sarawak Club Golf Resort is located on a 216 acre site next to the Unimas campus along the Kuching-Samarahan Expressway. It features an 18 hole golf course, 25 bay driving range and a 35,000 square foot clubhouse. Complete with banquet hall, bar and cafeteria, an Olympic sized swimming pool, gym, conference room and library, this elegant resort was designed by Kuching’s own award-winning architects, DNA.

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Three AIM Award nominations for debut album ‘NO REASON’ in 2004, and two more nominations in 2008 for follow-up album ‘HEY’ have firmly established SingleTrackMind (STM) in Malaysia’s indie music scene.

STM’s music is a deft blend of influences, but yet uniquely its own. STM’s music is eclectic and can range from singer-songwriter pop to intense more brooding rock and still carry the STM stamp.

STM will perform two acoustic sets in aid of HfH and will auction off one of Alex Wong’s guitars, a Squire Stratocaster hardtail.

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 LayNa Ballet Academy started in July 1996. Each year, students of the Academy are enrolled for the Ballet Graded and Vocational Examination by the Royal Academy of Dance, London; and they have consistently achieved a high percentage of Distinctions.

The Principal of the Academy, Miss LayNa Chan, the first recipient of the MLNG Scholarship for the Fine Arts in 1991, was appointed a Ballet Graded Examiner by the Royal Academy of Dance, London, in 2003.

The Academy has taken part in various private and government events, including numerous fundraising projects for the needy.

Wilson (left) and Jin whittles a piece of board down to size.

When Bambang Sudarmono, 31, learned that Habitat for Humanity (HfH) is helping to build a house in  his in-laws’s village, he went over to have a look and make some inquiries. He even found time to pitch in and help.

The mental hospital nursing aide and father of three then submitted his own application, went through the interview process and was approved within a month. The built commenced on 10 July.

“It was on my birthday.” Bambang announced happily. “I want to thank Habitat for Humanity for making my dream come true.” 

He explained that after renting for 9 years, he is more than ready to have a home to call his own. HfH made this possible by way of some very reasonable conditions. 

When The Sunday Post paid a visit, students from Swinburne University of Technology have teamed up with a couple of backpackers who happen to be in South East Asia. They are the second group to work on Bambang’s new house at Kampung Sandong. 

Jin Thai, 20, is a civil engineer student with an interest in humanitarian work. A week of house- building with HfH was right up his alley and a great way of spending part of his school holidays. 

“It’s related to my field.” he said. 

Jin signed up when HfH went to the university to give a talk. The experience of building a house proved to be meaningful. 

“There were no walls when we arrived.” He said, gesturing at the half-complete house. “I learned a lot of things about building one this week.”

Wilson Liew, 20, values the experience. 

“We get to contribute to the community.” said the mechanical engineering student. “It’s also a productive way of spending time with friends, instead of just hanging out at the mall.” 

This was also Liew’s first time at building a house. While it was not as complicated as he feared, it did turn out to be very tiring work. He confessed that he and his fellow students have been arriving for work later and later as the week unfolded. 

However, Liew won’t mind signing up again if his personal schedule permits. “It’s good exercise and the time you spend here with friends is priceless.” 

Liew revealed that Bambang saw that the volunteers are well cared for on a practical level - the home partner had snacks and cold drinks available at a nearby hut.

To people who are still looking for a good reason to get involved, this university student offers a simple advice.

“You guys are missing out. Do something for the community.”

Most Habitat for Humanity volunteers agree that there is a certain satisfaction in seeing results of their hard work come together before their eyes. This was how Tessa Henderson, 22, ended up working together with local university students on Bambang’s house.

“My boyfriend and I are travelling through Asia and wanted to do some volunteer work along the way.” she said. “We found out about Habitat’s work in Kuching through the website, got in touch and here we are.”

It is their first time on this part of the world, so working on a local volunteer project was a great way of taking in the local colour and meeting Malaysians. 

“The experience have been fantastic. You can see results immediately.” Henderson said. “Building is the most productive way of helping out. If you teach English for a week, you’re not going to see results within that week. You only need basic skills to help with Habitat and it’s really rewarding.”

Habitat for Humanity is a Christian organisation, but they make no distinction between race, religion and et cetera of things people like to judge other people on. Home partners are chosen based on their level of need, ant their willingness to be partners in the programme. They are also required to repay HfH’s no-interest loan for the cost of the house, but the monthly instalment will be within their means.

“When I fill in the application form, I had to put down how much you think you can repay them every month.” Bambang said. “When my application is approved, two members from Habitat came to interview me. They ended up lowering the amount I offered to repay!”

A qualified home partner is also required to put in 400 hours of ’sweat equity’. This means he must work together with HfH’s Construction Supervisor Eric Yap and a team of volunteers to put his new house together.

Bambang was so thrilled about his new house that he took two weeks off work so he could get started immediately. It was his house and his responsibility, and there is something satisfying about putting a new home together with your own two hands.

Having helped in a previous HfH effort, Bambang said that he will lend a hand to a future project when time permits. With his own house taking shape, he knows the value of what Habitat volunteers everywhere are doing when they pick up a building tool, experience optional. 

“You know you’re doing something valuable for someone.” he summarised.

Volunteers come from all walks of life - students on holiday, professionals on a team building effort weekend their colleagues, backpackers who want to do something more when then visit a particular country, assorted group of friends looking for a new way to bond.

Perhaps you can only give a day or a weekend. Perhaps you think your time won’t be worth much because the hardest work your hands ever do is typing on a keyboard. But you should never under-estimate how much this will mean to someone who need a hand up in life. 

For more information on how you and your group of buddies can get involved with Habitat for Humanity, contact the Kuching affiliate at 082-242700. You can also visit the HfH blog or the online community.

Originally published in The Borneo Post’s thesundaypost, 10 August 2008

The People that Habitat built
By Georgette Tan

Nice day to get lost.

It was a beautiful day to be lost in the intestinal tract of roads near Kota Sentosa. I was already an hour late to my appointment and was starting to think that it was One of Those Days. Brilliant blue skies and fat white clouds mocked my inability to find my way out of a paper bag with a map.

After two phone calls, I found myself on a single lane tarred road that started bearing landmarks noted in my map. The high undergrowth flanking the road broke periodically to reveal houses in various ranges of prosperity. Meanwhile, I noticed that the road was gradually shrinking under my faithful little car.

Ever the city mouse, I didn’t think I’d find myself in a village that belonged in The Middle of Nowhere within that short a driving distance from town. But there I was in Kampung Temedak, and it was a relief to find the sign I’ve been looking for - the white rectangle that announced I am approaching a Habitat for Humanity (HfH) project, and the end of the longest 10-inch of road I’ve ever seen on a map.

The house that Habitat is building is bigger than I expected. The reason for this, explained HfH’s Construction Supervisor Eric Yap, is because they were not the ones who began work on the house.

“The family started the house, but they couldn’t complete it because they ran out of funds.” Yap said. “Habitat is now helping them finish it.”

New house in progress (left) and current accommodations (right).

The Iban family that will eventually live there lost their previous home in a fire. The family of six currently resides in a small shack next to their new house, but just for a little while longer. The building is close to completion, with fixtures waiting to be installed. Paint fumes wafted in the air as the week’s team of young volunteers wielded paintbrushes and rollers. They’ve covered a lot of walls already.

Sally Yap, advisor for the 3rd Kuching Company of the Girls Brigade Malaysia, explained to PostMag that the older girls have to do 25 hours of community service as part of their programme. It was also not always easy to match the girls up to a HfH project.

“The houses have to be near enough to town, so it’s convenient for the parents to drop them off.” Sally said.

This is Sally Yap.

Location is not the only factor. They also have to see what stage of built the house is in, because there are jobs you don’t give to a group of 16-year-old girls.”We have to see what kind of work they can do.” said Sally. “It’s been a while since we brought a group to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity because we have to take this into account, as well as the location and the time. Students can only help out during the holidays.”

Vera Li and Katrina Teoh, both 16, are on Day 3 of their 5-day week and are nearer than most to finishing their 25 hours of community service.

“The work is not so tough, but I enjoy the process.” Li said.

Teoh begged to differ. “Painting is quite hard too.” she said, probably thinking about what their first full day of work was like.

“We were only here for half a day on Monday.” said Li, the chattier of the two. “Yesterday was our first day full time, and we just can’t imagine how people can do this every day!”

When asked what they wish they were more prepared for when they started, Teoh consulted Li in a whisper and both girls burst into laughter.

“What? What?” queried this feature writer, who have already signed up for a coming build with HfH and didn’t want to be caught unaware, maybe without toilet paper, in The Middle of Nowhere Else.

Li put me out of my misery. “We didn’t think we’ll have time to rest, so we didn’t bring junk food for our break!”

L-R: Vera Li, Katrina Teoh, Sim Pei Yi and Ong Siaw Wee.

Chalking up their first few hours with the project that week was Sim Pei Yi and Ong Siaw Wee, also 16.

Sim revealed that she wasn’t completely new to Habitat. “I did this two years ago. We laid bricks for the walls of that house. It was interesting work because it’s not something most of us would normally have a chance to do.” she said. “Painting is a more common thing.”

Ong thought the work waiting for them would be harder. “It’s meaningful work for us, but I think we got the easy part.”

Sim agreed. “I wish I could have gotten involved in an earlier stage. The people who came before us had the harder work.”

Although they expect to finish painting the house by the end of their week, their advisor told me that their work is not done yet.

“We will have projects to raise funds for Habitat.” Sally said. “The students will be coming up with their own ideas to raise the money.”

If anything, their week with Habitat would create plenty of fodder for those “What I did during the holidays” essays.

Student groups aside, what kind of volunteers does Habitat get? Eric Yap answers the question.

“We get more international volunteers.” he said. “It’s hard to find locals because they don’t have time. Most of our local volunteers are students.”

Yap reeled off names from the top of his head. “Swinburne just signed up. We’ve had students from Lim Kok Wing, Lodge Group of Schools, and Inti College. We also get a regular group of volunteers from CMS and architects from DNA.”

Habitat also employ contractors to do the specialised heavy lifting. This is because they cannot always wait around for suitable volunteers to take to the task when it arises, Yap said.

“We expect to complete this house and dedicate it to the homeowners by the end of June.” Yap said.

HfH have been pretty busy this year. They’ve completed five houses out of their target of 16 for this year and are looking for more home partners to work with.

The home partners are required to contribute 400 hours of ’sweat equity’, working alongside the volunteers in building their new house. In addition to that, they are required to pay HfH back for the house. For the lower income group who will not necessarily be able to get a bank loan, being a HfH home partner gives them a fair shot in claiming a better life for themselves. They get a hand up.

Habitat for Humanity is a Christian organisation, but they make no distinction between race, religion and et cetera of things people like to judge other people on. Home partners are chosen based on their level of need, their willingness to be partners in the programme, and their ability to repay the no-interest loan.

Volunteers come from all walks of life - students on a break, professionals who want to make a difference, people who know which end of the paintbrush picks up the wet stuff, and people who’ve never gotten sand in their shoes before.

“I learned about Habitat through church, and used some of my free time to help.” said Yap, who was once an electrical technician with KOMAG. When they dedicated the first house he helped build, Yap knew that he has arrived at a turning point.

“The experience changed my life. It changed my attitude. Before that, I always think about things like earning more money.” He said. “I decided to use my talent to help other people.”

Now one of the two full time staff at the Kuching affiliate, Yap confessed that he didn’t think he’ll make much of a contribution the first time he set foot on a Habitat site.

“The first time I volunteered, I didn’t think I’ll be able to do anything. But I learned how to do every stage of building a house, and now I’m the Construction Supervisor.” said Yap. “It’s really amazing.”

Still on the quest to arm myself with knowledge before jumping in, I asked him what I should bring when it’s time for me to roll up my sleeves and toil alongside my fellow volunteers.

“Everything is prepared at the site, depending on what you will be doing. I’ll need to know the number of people at least a day before, but you don’t have to bring anything.” Yap assured me. “Just bring water, and bring your heart.”

For more information on how you and your group of buddies can get involved with Habitat for Humanity, contact the Kuching affiliate at 082-242700. You can also visit the HfH blog at or the online community.

Originally published in The Borneo Post’s PostMag, 4 May 2008

Rose Wong is the latest to blog about her build experience. She joined me and two other friends at a site in Kampung Senibong last Sunday for a half day build. She’s been wanting to come along ever since I blogged about my first trip, so I’m glad she finally made it!

Half a day doesn’t sound like much, but we sure got to try out all sorts of things that day! We hauled baskets of rocks, carted it away in wheelbarrows, hammered and sawed and twisted. I’ve not gotten around to blogging about it, but never mind me… go read Rose’s post!

In other news, I’d like to draw your attention to the calendar of builds over there in our list of pages. It’s a list of upcoming builds and the volunteer group who booked the date. The purpose of the calendar is to make it easier for you find an open date for your own group.

Angelina at the Kuching Affiliate office keeps the page very up-to-date, and as you can see, some groups book their dates waaaay ahead.

So if you have a Saturday or a few weekdays free in December, consider rounding up a few friends and heading out to Kampung Senibong to help with one of the two houses in progress. A little bird with a toolbelt* told me that they’d like to finish up the houses soon so the families could move in by Christmas.

Wanna give two families an awesome Christmas present? Pick a date and get in touch.

* okay, he’s not little and he’s not a bird, but he does have a wonderful toolbelt.