Shooting the rapids - teaching in the heart of Borneo

comments     Chris Lau     Published     Updated

FOCUS Syamil had his boat almost wrecked by the waves while his was on the way back from Belaga town in Sarawak to his school. He was trying to get clothes for the children in school, to prepare them for the coming inter-school chorus speaking competition.

It was a raining Sunday afternoon. A 20-minute journey from the town to his school, SK Airport, is usually convent-quiet but that day was different. The bow of the boat hit something in the water, all of a sudden. The boatman quietly stopped the engine as the boat began to be filled with water.

“It was really great that the boat didn’t flip over,” said Syamil. “We tried to get rid of the water and stopped by the riverside. Everything was wet.”

Syamil tried to dry the clothes in the quarters at night as the competition was to be held the next day. The evening was sleepless. Some of the clothes were still wet. He tried to fan them and warm them with an iron.

This is his fifth year working as a teacher. Syamil ( photo ) is from Ipoh. Sarawak had never been among all his choices during his job application. But when he got it, he carried on without a doubt. It’s located upstream of Rejang River, and could be so amazing...

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