Day 8: Make Toilets and Turning Pink House White!

Today marked the start of a new project segment – building of the toilet. Some parts of the toilet walls were built by a group of Singaporean youth who came here to do their service project. However, they were unable to complete it in time. Our team volunteered to finish with the remaining construction work. Ben and Waqiu were told to help with covering the walls with plaster, a rather tedious task. Of course, the two rovers weren’t really good at the plastering of walls at first. Thankfully, Abang Lan, Abang Zamri and Azam helped by providing their guidance. With that, they managed to complete about 90 percent of the plastering for the toilet exterior at the end of the day. To top it off, the scotching hot sun did not help too. Both Benjamin and Waqiu experienced back aches and got sunburn. That night, Benjamin fell ill with a fever too, due to the hot temperature which most rarely experienced in Singapore.

Spreading the cement.

Coolie Kang trying to mix the cement.

The team also managed to get things going for painting of the pink house. Sijie, Kelvin and Wei Yung started off with the white undercoat. This time, they learned from their previous experiences and made quick work of it.

The "White House".

After a quick dinner, Kelvin and Wei Yung headed off to the beach patrol at Telaga Papan, together with 4 other interns from a Malaysian university. Unfortunately, it was an uneventful night, with the sighting of only 1 turtle landing but not eggs were laid.

Day 7: Beach Patrol - Tagging the Transmitter

The beach patrol tonight marked a special significance as we would be marking a turtle with a GPS transmitter to track its movement after nesting. We had to prepare the turtle shell by polishing with sand paper to remove impurities and to smoothen the shell out. The transmitter was then attached to the shell by epoxy. The whole process, including the nest excavation, took roughly 3 to 4 hours to complete.

Whilst waiting for the epoxy around the transmitter to harden.

Day 7: Early Morning Marketplace, Mud, and Baju.

This morning, we headed to the morning market in Permaisuri to experience the life of a typical Malaysian in the local community.

Permaisuri, here we come!

Perwanis Booth at the Roadshow.

POP POP!!

The sheer amount of Chicken.

OM NOM NOMNOMNOM~

Hmm.. Fighting fish anyone?

We headed back into the swamps in the afternoon to harvest some mangrove fruits for the nursery.

Strapped up and ready to go!

Boat Waqiu, the only one with shade..

Can you spot the mangrove fruits?

That night, we spent our time trying to make our traditional malay kites, the Wau.

Sijie's kite.

Waqiu trying to tie his frame

The merchandise for the project finally arrived tonight too.

Badges, scarves, t-shirts and polo, yo!

Yo Dawg, I'mma ready to roll!

Day 6: Kerepek Pisang~

It’s Banana Chip making day! Also known as Kerepek Pisang, it is one of the revenue sources of the Perwanis. These are sold to visitors who drop by the village for eco-tours to the mangrove swamps nearby.

Peel banana!

The focus and concentration..

Shredding bananas into thin strips.

The result!

The 5 of us then went over to the mangrove swamps for some planting of mangrove seedlings together with students of SK Mangkok.

Talk on the mangroves.

Planting..

Digging..

Cikgu Sahara having a great time too. 

The team in the river.

And, we managed to squeeze in some time for outlining of the mural in the school miraculously.

Outlines done!

Finally, the day ended off with a barbeque dinner hosted at SK Mangkok. The team had a wonderful and enjoyable time with the community.

Panggang like a boss.

Fanning the fishes.

Chicken on da grill!

Clam feast!

The team off to a new adventure in the night..

Day 5: Uno Stacko on the Pick-up Truck

Today, the team managed to complete the paint jobs for the 2 houses. The items for the stalls were also bought when Kelvin and Sijie traveled to Kuala Terengganu with Nurol. Meanwhile, the undercoat of the mural was started on.

Stacks of Ice boxes and Shelve Drawers for the stalls.

Chocolates anyone?

Finally done!

 At night, we went to one of the stalls who is a beneficiary of the project to enjoy some of the wonderful delights of Terengganu.

The team with Nurol.

Yummy!

Maggi Goreng..

AHMM!

Here kitty kitty kitty..

Day 4: More Painting + Night Lesson

The paint job for Pak Awang’s house began today. We split up into 2 teams again. By sunset, the Sky Blue coat for Kak Ta’s house took into reality. The “Reese Peanut Butter Cups” themed coatings for Pak Awang’s house were taking shape too.

Painting the railings.

Coolie gang at work!

Peanut Butter cups in the making.

The new Blue House for Kak Ta.

The 3 painters at work.

All done!

At about 8pm tonight, there was a night class conducted for the children at Pink house. We taught them simple words using cue cards with the theme ‘Body Parts’, playing emphasis on pronunciation and meaning. We chose this as it was easier for them to relate and remember. It was fun and interesting to teach and share our knowledge with the children. We also made a gauge on their understanding of the English language. With that, we can better plan our next lesson on coming Monday, 1 July 2013.

Showing the kids cue cards.

Trying to read the words.

Cikgu Waqiu in action!