KOTA KINABALU: Residents living in two villages at the foothills of Mount Kinabalu can now heave a sigh of relief.
This is after the recent completion of a gravity water feed distribution system for Kampung Waang and Kampung Kiwawoi in Kundasang, Ranau, about 100km from the Sabah capital.
It was not too long ago that families in the households of both communities had to ration water. Now that is a thing of the past.
One of the happy villagers, Ajilee Lubin, who is the Kampung Waang Village Development and Security Committee (JPKK) chairman, can’t hold back the smile each time he turns on the tap in his house now.
He recalled a time when his neighbours had to load everything from jerry cans to small tanks on their pick-up trucks and collect water from a nearby village following a three-month-long dry spell.
“It’s been such a relief not having to worry about our water supply anymore,” he said, adding that the community project would be able to meet future demand with the anticipated increase in the number of households there.
“We constantly reminded ourselves to limit our water use when we took our baths or washing,” said Ajilee, a teacher by profession.
The project was initiated by Qhazanah Sabah Berhad (QSB), the Sabah government’s investment arm, for both villages as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme through an initiative of the Karanaan State Assembly Community Development Leader Unit (UPPM) since August 2021.
Karanaan UPPM head Rosdi Abdul Ghani said the gravity water supply system enabled water to be collected in a hilly area that villagers called Kigiwit.
The hill is located about 15km away, with the water channelled through a network of gravity pipes and water tanks to the 1,400 people residing in both villages.
The gravity water supply system took some three months to be completed, he said, adding the villagers themselves put in the hard work.
Ajilee who participated in the work said the villagers pulled together to carry the bags of cement, dozens of bricks, pipes and tanks up a 70-degree slope.
“There was no other way around it. There were no sealed roads so everything had to be manually hauled up,” he said.
Aside from the arduous task of carrying the building material, some villagers also had to strap the large water tanks onto their backs up the hill.
The villagers however did not even mind a little bit as they were doing it for a greater cause.
Inclement weather managed to slow down the work but the villagers were not to be denied, Ajilee said.
“The work was completed in December 2021 and for a few weeks, the villagers closely monitored for any leaks before the gravity water supply system became fully functional in January this year,” he said.
Rosdi said the villagers drew from their experience in general construction and plumbing to ensure a clean and constant flow of water from the source to the reservoirs and onto the individual houses.
QSB, in a statement, said the company was heartened that the gravity water supply project had a positive impact on the people’s lives in Kampung Waang and Kampung Kiwawoi.
It stated the project was notable as it was carried out as a communal effort or gotong-royong and the villagers felt responsible for its upkeep and maintenance.
“Qhazanah Sabah would complement the efforts of various government agencies for the betterment of communities particularly those in rural areas through its CSR initiatives,” the company said.