Kota Kinabalu: Improved gravity water supply is now available to villagers in Kg Sayap Magambai, Kota Belud, thanks to initiatives by Sabah Civil Society organisation (CSO) Hopes Malaysia.
The initiative was made possible by sponsor from the Malaysian Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Hopes Malaysia, a Sabah-based non-governmental organisation established since 2016, in a statement said the sustainable community development project saw the villagers uniting to reconstruct their 10-year-old gravity water system.
The piping and tanks were constantly leaking and unable to provide a strong flow or sufficient supply for the over 300 individuals residing there.
This resulted in households having little water to use daily - a common worrying reality for disconnected villages within Sabah’s vulnerable rural community.
“There are around 40 families here all fighting for water right before school or cooking dinner. The water that came out from our taps was so slow and sometimes dirty. It took us a long time to even wash one dish after eating,” said a resident, Sandra, about the village’s insufficient water supply before the project.
“The old system was leaking, never maintained or repaired because no one here knew what to do. We kept asking for help for years,” she said describing how the previous water system was burdening the community.
Villagers utilise the new gravity water connection for fish farming.
Through the CSO’s guidance and community’s efforts, the villagers’ daily water usage has improved, reaching the World Health Organisation’s daily water requirement.
New poly-piping channels the natural uphill water source to the community’s durable water tanks before distribution to homes and farms.
The villagers also constructed a new concrete base for the tanks to enhance their safety by reducing the risk of land erosion.
Having proper access to clean water means a lot for the families in Kg Sayap Magambai as they can now work towards brighter, more sustainable livelihoods.
“We are thankful that we have enough water to use at home and can look after the system now. We can focus on earning money from farming and handicraft, and putting our children through school. Lucky for us, but there are many other nearby villages that don’t have any water for homes,” she said on life impacted by the water project.
Meanwhile, Hopes Malaysia’s Founder Sam Lee highlighted the importance of connecting these detached communities with gravity water systems to avoid long-term livelihood issues.
“Because of poor water access, villagers will face soil infertility and food insecurity, negatively impacting their futures. The cost of living is increasing and families are falling deeper into poverty just to have the basic needs to survive.
“There are over 74 villages all over Kadamaian alone. Using a gravity water system is the only way for some communities to have a safe and consistent water source,” said Sam.
“We believe in empowering the communities to care and utilise their new assets for lasting benefits. Villagers have been reaching out to us to help them connect to clean water because they have no other option.
“Our CSO already has more than 10 villages on our project waiting list. We are urgently looking to carry out gravity water projects once we are able to secure enough CSR sponsorship funding, before their conditions worsen and lives are lost,” Sam added.
Since its establishment in 2016, CSO Hopes Malaysia has been sustainably empowering Sabah’s rural community, particularly villages in Kadamaian, Kota Belud to achieve long-term sustainable livelihoods.
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Without water at home,mothers and their small children need to dangerously take their bath in the river.
This includes the skill and knowledge empowerment of everyday villagers to construct, maintain and repair their local community’s gravity water systems, providing them unlimited access to clean water at home and on farms.
Hopes Malaysia has since connected over 10,000 villagers from 15 rural settlements with sustainable water supplies via more than 70 km of piping with the villagers’ efforts.
Aligned with the United Nations’ SDGs in this Decade of Action, Hopes Malaysia aims to equip more rural Sabah communities with clean water via impactful and long-term CSR partnerships.
