SOARING SPIRIT: Like a Phoenix that rises from the ashes, Kampung Sayap at the foothills of Mount Kinabalu is ready to start anew after suffering extensive damage in the June 5 earthquake in Sabah last year, writes Olivia Miwil
A QUAINT village called Kampung Sayap lies north of Mount Kinabalu.
Located in the Kota Belud district, it sits at the foot of the mountain, bordering the Kinabalu Park, which stretches 754sq km, giving first-time visitors the feeling that they can almost touch the mountain.
Village chief Jaffrin Lunsing, however, will advise with a smile that "it's not as easy as it looks".
"Maybe it's the gravel road that leads to the village that makes Mount Kinabalu look as if it is really close to us.
"However, it is still far from where we are," he said, explaining the visual deception.
Another explanation is probably the vastness of the mountain that stands south of the village, which is about 30km from Kota Belud town.
Apart from the challenging route to the village, a trip there promises an experience of traditional village lifestyle and adventure when ascending steep hiking trails that lead to the upper reaches of the mountain.
Jaffrin said the village was named by a British civil servant. However, he has yet to come across any official record of the person's name.
"It used to be called 'Minagkap', which means a village on the hills, but it was changed in the 1930s.
"As told by our elders, the Briton was resting near the Kemantis waterfall in the vicinity when he saw tree branches and leaves floating nearby.
"He was told by his guides that those were from the 'Sahap' tree.
"The incident led to the officer calling the place 'Sayap'."
Jaffrin said it was common for visitors to ask if the name had any reference to "wings", the translation from the Malay word sayap.
There is no such connection, he said.
An earthquake on June 5 last year, which killed 18 people on the mountain, had badly affected Kampung Sayap.
People from as far as 100km away felt the tremor, what more those who lived at the base of the mountain.
Jaffrin said it put the lives of the 2,000-odd people on hold for a while and just when they thought things had settled, tonnes of debris, boulders and mud gushed down the Kenunukan and Tebobon rivers near the village in the weeks that followed.
It disrupted their water supply and again, put their lives on a standstill as the majority of farmers and rubber tappers who live in the village were not able to do much work until two months later.
Things are returning to normal for the villagers, but there is much to be done, especially when 40 houses were damaged during the incident.
Recently, with the assistance of the armed forces, Tabung Bencana NSTP-Media Prima extended a helping hand by repairing five of the worst hit homes in the village through its "Jiwa Murni" programme.
In expressing his gratitude to those who came forward to help the community, Jaffrin said more needed to be done to restore the village.
Occasionally, non-governmental organisations would come and help run education programmes for the children. Some provided free medical checks, while others gave donations.
Kampung Sayap has much to offer visitors who are keen to explore the hidden secrets of the mountain or spend time in the serene surroundings of the village.
It is also where one of the six substations within the Kinabalu Park is located.
Some of the trails may have been changed or damaged after the earthquake. Despite the change in the landscape, the village remains as attractive as before and ready to soar - even without wings.
Related story: Quake victims grateful for aid. Dec 30, 2015.
KOTA BELUD: For the last three weeks, housewife Marina Malin has made new friends she can count on for help.
This was after her home at Kampung Lebak Moyoh was repaired after being damaged in the June 5 earthquake in a joint effort dubbed Program Jiwa Murni between Media Prima Berhad and the armed forces.
She admitted it felt awkward when the group of soldiers first turned up at her doorstep to offer their help in the programme made possible with funds from the NSTP-Media Prima Disaster Fund.
"After a few days, I was serving them breakfast and even my family got close to them. We are grateful for their effort in reaching out to help us," Marina said.
Her kitchen collapsed in the earthquake which measured 6.0 on the Richter scale and killed 18 people on Mount Kinabalu in Kundasang, Ranau.
Launched in August, Media Prima with the armed forces pledged to repair damaged houses identified by the State Disaster Relief Committee.
The programme kicked off with repairs on three houses in Kundasang, five in Kampung Sayap on the foothills of Mount Kinabalu and three near the town here.
Kampung Sayap Village Security and Development Committee chairman Kisoh Gambiar said the five houses in the area were selected because of the severity of the damage.
"We are thankful for the help as the damage were bad. There are some (buildings) with big cracks on the wall, collapsed sections of ceilings and uneven floors.
"Most of us are subsistence farmers, and such help from the company and the soldiers takes a major burden off our shoulders."
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