Orang Asli

Last Sunday was a day - a full day - that I won't soon forget. My day started by my alarm clock waking me up at 4:30 am so as a family we could be at the school by 5:30. There we met a small group, followed them in our vehicle to a local Methodist Church, loaded up with supplies, prayed together, and set out for a small village three hours away called Orang Asli. There we helped to lead a Sunday School lesson and also an English class for the local children, ranging in age from about 5 to about Hannah's age. Our family was brought along to be props for the English lesson which followed the format below:

Subject: English Lesson

I am_____. I am a girl/ boy. I am ______
you are_____. You are a girl/boy.
You are my friend/teacher......etc.
He is ______. he is my father/........etc.
Bah Firus is a boy. He is...... Mr Lee is a man. He is......
She is______. she is my mother/.......etc.
Wah Fifi is a girl. She is .........
Mrs Lee is a woman. She is ......
Miss Tan is a woman. She is ......
We are Orang Asli. We are good people.
Mrs Lee and I are friends. We are good friends.
They are small boys. They are happy.
Mrs Lee and Miss Lee are friends. They are teachers.
My mother and father are good.They are good to me.
The trees are big. They are very old.
The cat is big. It is a big cat.
he table is small. It is a very small table.
I am
You are, We are, They are
He is, She is, It is

Our family has a "father", "mother", etc. and thus we could be pointed to and introduced to help with the lesson. In all seriousness though, this group of people who serve in Orang Asli on a monthly basis were short on numbers, and were also expecting a larger group of children than usual, and we were able to help in a number of ways, eg set-up of the service, crowd control, lead small groups in their English lesson, etc. We were given some breakfast (noodles in a soy type sauce) and lunch (fish, beans, bamboo shoots, rice, and a spicy dish which none of us had). On the way back to Tanjung Bunga we hit a huge rainstorm and that was the moment our own van konked out on us. It involved two tows for about two hours, a delay of a couple of hours getting back to town (the people in the other van were an incredible support and help to us, translating and transporting some of us), and a very large fix-up bill for our van (it took about half a month's salary and a week later we still don't have it back yet). Any regrets? None! Would we go again? Absolutely! Would we take our 4 cylinder van across those hills again? That would probably be a 'no' :) Below are pictures that will say more than my words.

This is the church where the Sunday School and English lesson was held.  Everywhere in Malaysia it is customary to take your shoes off outside the door.  Nobody seems to lose their shoes though.  The picture on the right is the van we were following.

This is a picture of a house right next to the Church.  Most houses were set off the ground but for some reason the church was not.  There were definite spaces between the boards that you could peek in if you wanted to (we didn't :).

This is a close up of the above house, taken to show the little separate meeting room where some men are gathered presumably to chat.  No walls, grass roof, off the ground.  This little "room", just at the entrance to their village, was where quite a few people gathered to wave good-bye to us when we left.

Looking inside the Church which is where the Sunday School met and where some of the English classes were held. About 10 - 15 more children came later, bussed in from another village.  The two ladies sitting on the stairs are from Dalat.  The lady in pink is a Kindergarten teacher and the one on the left is in charge of the Care and Share program which oversees community outreach programs.  The lady standing up at the front is also one of the organizers of this particular outreach.  She is the one who invited us, and also happens to be the girls' piano teacher. 

When we first arrived at the village we were served a meal that was like a spaghetti with a soy sauce type look to it and with bok choy in it.  It was a bit unusual for us as it is about breakfast time.

Two girls in the class about the same age as Hannah and Aimee. They probably knew English the best.

A cute little girl.

Telling a Bible story using a felt board and felt figures.  Aimee is helping with holding the figures. The lady behind the felt board translated for us.

Hannah helping some of the girls with their English.

Cooking lunch over an open fire.

Drainage from the washing up area that drained down below by Garth's feet. The water didn't really follow the metal sheeting but just ran off into the grass.  There were chickens scrabbling around this area.  It also happened to be right beside the communal toilet (a hole in the ground - a "squatty potty").  I did not look too closely at the mud right there.

Singing songs with the children in an open multi-purpose room. This particular song was a different version of 'Jesus Loves Me' with actions.

Kate sitting around with some of the children in front of the fan. It was very hot! This is at the front of the church.

This seemed to be an outdoor shower room that looked like it was shared by many families.

A water source for the village.

Moms looking into the Church during the final part of the program.

Another house close to the entrance of the village

Shoots sprouting from coconuts that had fallen to the ground. This was symbolic to me of new life springing out of ugly dead seeds.