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During the early morning hours of
December the 25th, the long, normally slow meandering Sungai Kelantan river, along with the
lesser rivers and streams which criss-cross Kelantan rose so high, and
traveled at such a speed, that only a few hours later many parts of Kuala
Krai, and Gua Musang resembled a great lake.
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| SK Maniek Urai, (Late December 2014) |
The force, height and speed of
this extraordinary flood was so great, people heard the waters move inland, and
sometimes loud bangs were heard, until whole villages became submerged, and
tens of thousands of people were forced to take refuge in some the schools we
visit, as Mentors. At one school, SK. Maniek Urai, the waters rose so high,
those who had fled to the school, sat on the fifth floor, staring into a vast
lake of water, and across a silent valley of still, muddy water.
A month has passed, and much has changed
since that terrifying December morning, enough to write a volume of books on
the shock, hunger then the slow rise to hope, as the waters eventually receded as quickly
as they came, leaving a trail of broken roads, villages that resembled the tsunami
hit areas of Asia in 2004, and much of Kuala Krai town, and district in darkness,
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| First day at School. SK Maniek Urai, (January 11th, 2014) |
Today, the schools we visit in
our areas have been open for two weeks, the
children of the floods even attended SK. Maniek Urai, and SK.Kerengan, after
only a basic structure remained, with a generator providing electricity, and
the Malaysian army cleaning up the school, and the shattered remains of both villages.
Some of the schools we visit as Mentors, remained
untouched by the destructive waters, but many of the staff, teachers and
children have lost much, yet we found a spirit with each visit, hearing
many stories of how communities pulled
together during the worst days of the flood, and when their was little food,
everything was shared, despite the fact many people in the area have large
families to take care of.
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| One of many village in our area, after the flood waters started to recede |
Other common stories are of loss, houses were
washed away, businesses ruined, and many
people left with only the clothes they wore when they initially escaped
the destructive barrage of the fast moving water, but they carried on,
especially as individuals, volunteers, the Government, the army and NGOs across Malaysia, and as far away as China, and Thailand came to help.
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| Help has come from the army, and people from all across Malaysia |
Yet, as we have visited schools,
since they re-opened on January 11th, driving through areas which are slowly
getting back to some semblance of normality, were electricity is now becoming
the norm, rather than a rarity, and clean running water less of a luxury.
Their
is a feeling of immense pride in the people we live amongst, and work with,
because despite the difficulties everyone faces, and the personal hardships
caused by this disaster, a resilient spirit
of hope for a better future can be felt during each school visit.
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One day, the great flood of 2014,
might become a distant memory, and just another easily read but rarely felt part of a history book, however this spirit of hope, which welcomes the
new school year, is our tribute to the communities of the area, as well as those who helped,
and we are proud to be working with you in 2015.
