Families living at Sandakan landfill get a helping hand

Deplorable conditions: The families scavenge whatever they can and sell them for as little as RM3.

KOTA KINABALU: The children enthusias­tically greeted a team of volunteers who arrived at the Sandakan landfill to hand over daily essentials to the residents.

The children, mostly clad in shabby and dirty clothes, are from the families living among tonnes of trash there.

They were excited upon seeing four friends arriving with other volunteers recently.

They are Jennifer Chua, Alya Syahida Allias, Mila Razali and Yeam Shin Yau of the non-­governmental organisation Happy Caring Hearts Crews.

The parents also followed suit when they saw the volunteers bringing with them items to the landfill along Mile 8.

Chua said they brought rice, salt, sugar and cooking oil.

The children were given buns, Milo, lollipops as well as cute positive healing drawings courtesy of KopiSoh and her team of artists, she added.

Together with their team leader Yunizam Yusop, Chua said they want to do their part in helping these people, especially the children, as their living conditions are deplorable.

Chua said the people here would scavenge whatever possible from the rubbish trucks and sell them for as little as RM3.

Sandakan Municipal Council president James Wong said the local authorities have been trying to get these people, who are stateless and illegal immigrants, to move to other places.

The children do not go to school or have proper healthcare as they have no documents.

He added that they have moved more than half the families away from there in the past few months.

Wong said many of those who are eligible have been moved to the People’s Housing Project in Taman Muhibbah.