Take A Step Back And Look Around

Hi there, my name is Kelvin Chan (KIE170517), a second-year Electrical Engineering student from the University of Malaya. Today I would like to share with you my experience visiting Kampung Rincing Hilir as part of our Social Engagement course. It was an amazing experience, where I got to calm down and reflect on the things that are happening around me.

Born and raised in the city, I’ve never had the chance to experience the serene and tranquil life in the village. At first, I thought that it would be another one of those trips where everybody are just there just for the sake of completing the requirements of the course but I was wrong. Once we started the planning work, I started seeing the meaning and reasoning behind doing all of this. I started seeing how we can improve ourselves as well as inspire the community just by engaging with the people from Kampung Rincing Hilir. 

We’ve set the date of the 2 days 1 night visit to be on the 30th and 31st of March. After months of working together, we met with everyone at the Electrical Engineering Department Lobby at 8am on the 30th of March. After a short briefing, we took off for Kampung Rincing Hilir and arrived about 2 hours later. We kicked off the session with a short opening ceremony which included an ice breaking session as well as a short briefing on the history of the village by the village chief. Through that, we were able to know most of the committee members of the residents association. 

 

After the briefing, we had our lunch and proceeded to our rooms. Since they didn’t have enough foster families, some of us were forced to stay at a nearby homestay. We were a little disappointed as we couldn’t fully experience the feel of being a foster child.

Moving on, we visited some farmland which included a trip to a sugarcane farm and a bee farm. At the sugarcane farm, we were met with Pak Ayob which explained to us some of the tips and tricks on how to maintain these farms as well as provided us with the opportunity to chew raw sugar cane.

We then proceeded to the bee farm where we saw how we they collected honey from the bee hives. We even had the opportunity to extract the honey and try them by ourselves. 

After freshening up, we gathered at Mr. Mazlan’s house where we held games and a barbecue with all the foster parents. It was an amazing opportunity to bond not just with the villagers and foster parents but also among ourselves. Through this, we were able to understand how different people think in different ways.  

We begun the next day with some Zumba and some Nasi Lemak for breakfast. Then we followed the villagers for a rafting experience. It was amazing how the villagers were able to recycle and repurpose PVC pipes, Water Tanks and other materials to build these rafts which were able to withstand the weight of about 6 people. 

 

Following that, we had our lunch and proceeded with our next activity of visiting some of the houses of the villagers with old folks. Together with us we brought some household necessities like rice, biscuits & more. This reminded us about how we should br grateful for what we have and to always give a helping hand to those in need. Through this, we were able to hear various stories of their experiences in different fields. 

After a short closing ceremony, it was time to bid adieu to Kampung Rincing Hilir. It was a wonderful experience engaging with the villagers. The whole project flew by like it was going at the speed of light. Just within this few days, we felt like we were best buddies with the villagers. It was indeed a splendid experience being able to live in a village. If I had the chance, I would defiantly go back again to explore the village more.