MONDAY, 12 MAY – Travelling 250 kilometres through mountainous terrain from Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) did not dampen the spirits of a group of UMS undergrads to spread the education agenda through the programme ‘Seerat Kasih’ which was held at Padang, Village Sapulut, Nabawan.

One of the participants, Khairul Azlee Mohd. Yunus, an undergrad from the Faculty of Psychology and Education said, since the arrival of UMS delegation to this village, they were pleased with the hospitality of the villagers who warmly welcomed them.

‘Even though this village is remote, we do not have problems with the accommodation and facilities available here, in fact the warmth shown by the village community strengthened our determination to give back to the community here through education, health and preaching,” he said.

He explained that during the three-day programme at the village, UMS Rakan Masjid held a number of activities such as lectures on agriculture, agricultural activities with the villagers such as upland rice cultivation and vegetables side-planting, free health screening, Prayer Clinic, Wayang Pacak and gotong-royong were held around the village.

Meanwhile, a villager, Julia Lindas, 60 praised UMS efforts in exercising beneficial programmes in the village.

He clarified that the average villagers there including herself were newly converts, hence the preaching and teaching of Islam helped them to live according to the practice of Islam.

‘Six years ago, I converted to Islam upon invitation of my third child. It was followed by several close family members who desire to embrace Islam.

“Since we are new to this religion and its teachings, the presence of a number of visiting parties including UMS delegation has indeed made our day,” she said.

Present at the programme was UMS Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Datuk Dr. Mohd. Harun Abdullah. He had also donated food, rice and seedlings as a sign of support and gave aid to the villagers. – (fl)

 
Media and Citra Division
Chancellery Department