By Wilfred Pilo
KUCHING, Aug 2: A 64-year-old widow, Lauh Tajet of Kampung Sg Engkabang B, located along the Serian-Sri Aman Road, is over the moon as the dilapidated wooden house she and her late husband built in the 1980s is now a beautiful home.
This was made possible by the Housing Development Corporation’s (HDC) Welfare, Sports, and Recreation Club (KKSR), which took the initiative to repair her home after her story was highlighted by DayakDaily in 2021.
“When my husband was alive, our house was in good condition. However, the house deteriorated over time after he died, and I could not maintain it.
“After KKSR repaired and renovated the old house, it is just like replacing an old rag cloth with a new one. I could not have asked for more,” she said when met by this writer recently.
“I would like to thank the club and DayakDaily for making my small dream a reality. I did not expect that they are people out there thinking of people like us,” she added.
Luah said that help must be extended to provide better living conditions to those who need it, as there are still many people like her in Sarawak.
“Many people in rural areas do not have good homes and live in poverty. So they need help and assistance.
“I don’t like to bother people, but now I can only do minimal work around the village. I plant vegetables and rear chickens for my consumption.
“When there is help like this (repairing my home), I feel good, and life is worthwhile to carry on,” she smiled.
Luah advised that if there are poor widows like her, they should go to go to their community leaders and seek help.
“I am lucky, but we must seek help from the authority. If we don’t have anybody else, we won’t be able to live securely if our home is old, leaking, and breaking,” she said.
Luah said that is satisfied with what KKSR had done to repair her house.
“I am not worried about termites as the wall structure is made of concrete and better building materials were used,” she said, adding that her house is now more solid, and the new roofing will ensure no leakages during heavy rain.
HDC KKSR president Masnah Jamali and the committee, when contacted, said that they are happy to help as part of their outreach programme to help the less fortunate.
“This aligns with our club’s objective: to help the needy. In this case, we extend this to Luah Tajet,” she said.
Masnah said previously, the club helped build a single-storey house with a private company in Satok and repaired a religious school at Kampung Selang Ulu Kuching.
She added that it took three weeks to finish the repair works on Luah’s dilapidated house in Serian.
“We started repair works in early April so that she (Luah) can have a joyful Gawai Dayak,” she said
“Our club also gave Luah food aid for her to get by as a small token,” she said.
Masnah and her committee said the club would continue to carry out its corporate social responsibility (CSR) duties and do more community outreach programmes to help the needy.
“Our club also hopes that more government and private agencies do the same,” she said. — DayakDaily
