SANDAKAN, Nov 4 — Fire-hit families in Kampung Bahagia, who were left without safe water and proper toilets when a blaze tore through their water village in April, now have new facilities to help them recover.
Mercy Malaysia and Yayasan Sime Darby (YSD) today officially launched the water, sanitation and hygiene facilities at a ceremony at the Kampung Bahagia Children’s Humanitarian Development Centre near here, followed by a site visit.
“Clean water and safe sanitation are the foundation of health and dignity, especially for families rebuilding their lives after losing their homes,” Mercy Malaysia president Datuk Dr Ahmad Faizal Mohd Perdaus said in a statement.
“When the fire devastated Kampung Bahagia, restoring these basic services was among the community’s most urgent needs,” he added.
Funded by a RM300,000 contribution from YSD and delivered by Mercy Malaysia, the project includes four temporary communal blocks for toilet, bathing and washing use, as well as a water storage tank and a piping network.
The extra water storage is also meant to help the community prepare for future emergencies, including fighting fires, the organisers said.
Yayasan Sime Darby CEO Yatela Zainal Abidin gives a speech in Kampung Bahagia, Sabah.
YSD chief executive officer Yatela Zainal Abidin said the foundation had earlier distributed RM270,000 in emergency aid to 1,000 affected families.
She said YSD knew that “many families would continue to face challenges long after the initial relief efforts”.
Mercy Malaysia worked with local craftsmen, local authorities and community representatives from planning to completion of the project.
Mercy Malaysia exco Dr Khamarrul Azahari Razak gives a speech in Kampung Bahagia, Sabah. — Picture courtesy of Mercy Malaysia
The April 19 fire destroyed about 1,000 stilt houses and affected nearly 9,000 residents.
By September 22, some 300 families were still living in donated tents and plywood huts beside the burnt site, with some lacking electricity or regular clean water, Bernama said.
Back then, village head Sharif Hashim Sharif Titing said most residents want to rebuild on the same site, where the Sabah Lands and Surveys Department had conducted its preliminary site mapping.