IPOH, 27 July 2017:
The villagers of Kampung Ulu Geroh, Perak have a lot to smile about. They have had access to clean water for the last month – thanks to the installation of two new Life Straw point-of-use community water filtration systems in their village.
Made possible through the joint efforts of Laneige Malaysia and Global Peace Foundation (GPF) Malaysia, some five villages, over 100 homes and 880 underprivileged villagers – including those in Kampung Poh in Perak and Kampung Padang in Pahang – have benefitted from 30 units of the portable water filtration systems.
Laneige Malaysia brand general manager Winnie Foong said: “I have visited orang asli settlements a few times, and know the hardships they face.
“Skin care and beauty play an important role in our brand and after hearing about their plight from our partner GPF, it broke my heart to know that there are still many Malaysians deprived of one of life’s basic needs.”
Working closely with GPF (which identified the orang asli communities in need of help), Laneige raised RM100,000 through their ‘Waterful Sharing Campaign’ – which saw RM10 from the sale of each of its CSR Water Sleeping Masks channelled towards the campaign fund.
During a recent media visit to the community settlement, the local ladies were pampered with a Laneige beauty makeover, while the youngsters participated in a kids’ arts and crafts workshop; and were gifted stationery and water bottles for school.
Villagers welcomed, and opened up their humble homes to the media, expressing their gratitude for the clean water.
Wah Rina, 26 – who lives with her parents, husband, four-year old daughter and two younger male siblings (aged 20 and 10 years old respectively) – said there was a difference in the quality of water now.
“Those of us with sensitive skin used to suffer itchiness, and fall ill with stomach aches caused by the unclean water we use to cook and bathe in.
“We were forced to use a double layer cloth filter, but even so, we would still find sand, dirt, mud and sediment in the water. Also, the cloth filter would get extremely dirty very quickly, and we would have to change it every month.”
To make sure the water was safe to drink, therefore, it had to be boiled. Now, however, they can drink straight from the unit – which is what they prefer, Wah Rina added.
Dr Teh Su Thye, chief executive officer of GPF, said the Kampung Ulu Geroh orang asli community does not have treated pipe water since their water source comes from the hilltops.
He explained that on rainy days mud flows into the rivers, further polluting the water needed for their daily use. Hopefully, all those problems will be a thing of the past now, with the RM2,000 filtration unit, he added.
This is Laneige Malaysia’s fourth consecutive year under the “Waterful Sharing Campaign” banner which is in line with their commitment to provide access to clean water, and uplift the lives of the orang asli communities in the country.