A captivating experience with the aborigine's of Malaysia.

 Take a good look at this picture. This is where the aborigine's of Kampung Jugrah, Banting , Selangor earn a living and grasp shelter. Aren't we lucky to have such comfortable homes equipped for the modern age. A visit to the native's village has taught me a modest way of living.

This trip has also taught me the significance of appreciating mother nature. Looking at the structure of their houses, and the surroundings, I realized, the natives are very creative in fully utilizing the natural sources. Nothing goes to waste. Even without electricity or necessary equipments, they live with mirth and joy.


This definitely is a quality that I learn, 'we should appreciate with whatever we have and make the best out of every situation'. As we were cleaning and picking up the little rubbish that was scattered all over, I saw this little boy playing under the house. He was carrying a small yellow truck. It was intriguing to see him play with the truck while picking up the sand under the house and merely putting it in the truck with his bare hands. This is their form of entertainment, in other words, the marvels of their childhood, very much contradictory to ours-  the internet and techno gadgets which are the marvels of our childhood.

After 4 hours of thorough cleaning , we finally moved to Kampung Bumbun which was about 15 minutes away from Kampung Jugrah. Despite the wet weather ,we maximized our time in Kampung Jugrah. It felt awesome being able to do something for the natives. At kampung Bumbun, we had activities and games for the kids. This was an opportunity for us to interact with the natives' children. It was implicitly fun!

Initially, there was some apathy in me as I dislike children. I get irascible when I come across those annoying ones. However, this trip to Kampung Bumbun changed my perception and attitude towards children.
Children are young and innocent. Its intrinsic for every child to be in raptures. They are the ones who color our lives. I was once upon a child, and yes, I brought tears of happiness to my parents and joy in their years of living with my foibles. So do these children.
We were divided into groups and had to play the role of facilitators.

For the few hours we had, we played in amity- bonds were created, mutual understandings were developed with the children of the village. Among the other children, there was this little kid that got my attention most. He was the youngest of them all, Swagen was only four years old.
 I approached him with a *bogus* (as I never fancied being with kids) smile on my face and greeted him. The situation enliven when he told me his name and his age after being asked. Swagen is a phlegmatic child. Only spoke when asked. When we had games, he barely understood the instructions, ( I don't blame him). I had to patiently explain to him over and over again until he understood. I enjoyed being with Swagen..as he taught me the value of patience.( usually I am not very patient with kids, but Swagen tested my patience in a positive demeanour). Swagen  inspired me to love and like kids.
Thank you Swagen!

All in all, this trip was a fruitful one. Apart from bonding with the natives, we nurtured the bond among ourselves.