RA RA RA... RALEIGH SPIRIT! !

I am counting down the days to my Raleigh International Expedition to Borneo.

On 2nd July 2010, I will leave the comforts of home to challenge my limits in rural areas of Sabah for 10 weeks.

I will be involved in 3 weeks of community service, 3 weeks of environmental work, and 3 weeks of adventure stuff.

I asked myself a thousand times before I made this decision.

Do I really want to spend my whole summer vacation doing this?
Can I survive for 10 weeks without any modern technology?
Can I get along with the other venturers (who would be mostly Brits) when I don't even have many Brit friends while studying in London?
Being physically inclined as I am, would my team mates see me as a burden when hiking?
Would the buildings or bridges that I helped to build be hazardous to the people who use it?

Most of all, CAN I JUST SHIT IN A HOLE DUG ON THE GROUND
out in the open with insects buzzing and possibly a squirrel watching?
When I went for the introduction week, I tried my best not to use the 'hole' (Ok la, its proper name is 'long drop') for 2 days... But I don't think I can avoid using it for 10 weeks XD


Now, you'd probably ask why in the world did I chose to do it.
The answer is,




I AM PROBABLY CRAZY
as with all the other Raleighians.

But let me tell you one thing,
crazy people have the most fun, and do the most exciting things.




I was joking, I assure you, Raleighians are very sane people. But we do have lots of fun and exciting things going on :)


The thing is, I have always wanted to help underprivileged people (honestly). I once volunteered with World Vision, doing some super boring admin work.
This is different.
Its my only chance to build a school/water gravity feed system with my own bare hands (Not literally, I will have hammers and nails... >.<).
The best part is, I get to see how my contributions are really leaving an impact on the local people.

This is the first time in a long time to step out of my comfort zone, to do something totally out of my league.


Am I scared?
Very.

Am I prepared to take the challenge?
HELL YEAH.


Want to learn more about Raleigh International? Click here

Alternatively, here is a more interesting blog about a previous Borneo expedition early this year. Every time I read it, I get all hyped up to go :) Give it a try!



As far as preparations go, I just brought my air ticket to Kota Kinabalu yesterday (which cost me a bloody 640 ringgit), have not brought any of the equipment needed (Waiting for equipment briefing), and have not got any of the vaccinations required (going to Dr. Kung's clinic tmr!).

Hopefully everything will be done by next week.

For some reason, my mom is extremely worried that I will encounter a crocodile, tiger, ____(enter name of deadly animal here). TOUCH WOOD.

Some thoughts.

Peeps!

I am done with 5 papers. Now left with one more to go on Monday, then........ the sweet taste of freedom. 'Gladiator's ost - Now we are free' playing in the background.

I rarely (Ok, lets be completely honest here) I NEVER update myself with any Malaysian news while in London. But this afternoon, I had a sudden surge of patriotism and decided to keep myself updated with news at home. Bad move.

"Woman dies in fire as bhp staff refuse to loan fire extinguisher"

You can read the full story here:

http://komuniti.malaysiakini.com/news/woman-dies-in-fire-as-bhp-staff-refuse-to-loan-fire-extinguisher


Story cut short,

2am in the morning
Accident happens -> Woman pinned in car, screaming for help -> passerby saw engine catching fire -> Passerby ran to the BHP station to get a fire extinguisher -> BHP staff refuses to open the door -> Passerby insists -> BHP staff claims management does not allow loans of fire extinguishers to public -> Passerby insists again, this time offering his identity card as collateral -> Staff refuses again -> Woman burnt to death.


How depressing. But can we blame anyone?????? Of course, the reckless drivers that caused the accident. But, what is most debateable is, should the BHP staff be held into account?


First of all, I was perplexed by BHP's policy on fire extinguishers.

His requests were denied, the staff claiming that the management did not allow the loan of fire extinguishers to the public.

What nonsense. Surely, no one would come looking for fire extinguishers for fun. It is only when disaster strikes, when lives are at stake that we will need one. What are you guys trying to say? That a life is not worth one of your bloody expensive extinguishers? Thats coporate social responsibility at its rotting core.

(Of course, this is just based on what is claimed by their staff, I do not know if they really have this kind of rubbish policy, and since all their staff are probably horribly trained, what they claim might not be true).

BHP government relations manager Abdul Kaiyum when contacted claimed that the BHP attendants refused to open the door for Teo as he was not ‘acting calmly’ when asking for assistance.

Every single second counts in a life death situation. Just because he came running and shouted to hand the extinguisher over, doesn't mean he wasn't calm. To me, he acted with absolute rationale, running to find a fire extinguisher instead of panicking like what most people would do.

What were they expecting? A dashing young man in a suit, saying "Excuse me sir, but a woman's car engine is catching fire and she is trapped inside, would you be so kind to lend me your fire extinguisher so that she doesn't have to die?"

In defence of the staff in charge, he said that the two of them previously had been attacked and beaten up by assailants while on duty at the station.

Ok, this is a justifiable defence. After all, it was 2am and it can get pretty scary when a frantic man come knocking on the door. Robbers are getting smarter ( more immoral) these days, preying on the human compassion. I have been told to never stop the car if a bloody man asks for a lift to the hospital at night, because thats a trap to rob you. Once again, we see the decaying morality of society. :(((

But then again, when such a big accident happens nearby, people nearby would surely have heard the crash?? I have heard the sound of a small accident before, and it was LOUD. This surely would have been much louder. If BHP is near enough for him to run to, surely they would have heard the crash and would be able to verify his story.

(I do not know how close BHP was to the site of crash, so this is just an assumption.)

“I was willing to leave my IC with the staff as a guarantee, but they refused,”

What kind of stupid assailant would give you a photo identity when robbing you? If you say it might be fake, well, does it even matter? Photos don't lie, as long as the photo on the id looks like the person, then its good enough.... and this the staff can verify.



That said, no one really knew how the situation was at the time. The passerby might be a beefy guy with dragon tattoos pounding on the door of BHP. Or the staff were just too selfish and wouldn't give a shit if a woman dies, in case the company wants them to pay for the extinguisher out of their monthly paychecks.



How I wish we could go back to the days when people leave their house doors wide open all day and need not worry about parang-wielding barbarians come crashing in.


Those days are long over.