Universiti Malaya Community Engagement Centre (UMCares)
Sustainable Education through Environmental Awareness
The main aim of this project is two-fold: (i) to help the community and school to understand and work towards the sustainability of water and the source of water, (ii) to educate the children on water sustainability. This project involves the community and school which depends on the hill water for their water supply. The children of Sekolah Kebangsaan Lanai in Pos Pantos, Kuala Lipis, Pahang are placed in hostels where the water supply is low. The children should be educated on sustainability of water resources and educate the children about the environment through their English language class. Awareness on the water source, pollution and its causes and how to conserve, manage and maintain their water source are parts of the education module prepared for the students.
The schoolchildren are taught on ways to ensure their environment and water source are kept safe and protected. The community does not earn much and are dependent on the availability of natural resources to go about their daily activities. To add to their problems, there is very little or no water for long periods of time resulting in the school giving the children time off to go back to their villages. This phenomenon affects their performance academically. Hence, in order to ensure that the children remain in school, their basic needs must be addressed. Some students do not return to school even after the problem is settled and this creates problems for examination-bound students.
Collaborating with the UM team was TESCO (M) Sdn Bhd which worked to resolve the water issue. Tesco helped to build a water retaining wall or tank of 1 m cubic to help contain water. The villagers were involved in this building of the concrete walls, the fixing of pipes and other technical matters that would ensure enough water flow to the school. In sum, the project is a success story for all stakeholders.
Project information
Project Execution: 8 months
Location: Pos Pantos, Pahang
Contributions From industires: RM 10,000
Numbers of Community benifited: 200 people
Output of the project
Stakeholders Engagement
Future Enhancement
Sustainability is the key word. Through education, the children and community would benefit in the long run and learn to be independent. The education would also help to mitigate their water crisis during the hot seasons. While learning English, the children would learn how to conserve their water resources. The module would help them when answering questions on basic hygiene, preservation of water and water pollution
Last Update: 13/06/2022
