b'Clean Water for Rural Communities in Malaysia Location Malaysia; Long Tanyit,We are proud to be the first Penan village to Belaga District, Sarawak andbe recipients of this wonderful project. Our Kampung Gana, Kota Marudu, Sabah water supply used to come from the hills, and Duration April 2018April 2020 we were unsure whether the water was clean or healthy. The whole village now benefits from good food, clean drinking water, and enough water to wash our clothes - we are very gratefulVillage Headman of Long TanyitChildren are often found to be undernourished, Context suffering from sore eyes, skin diseases and diarrhoea, known to be a leading cause of Malaysia, Southeast Asia has a population ofdeath in children under five. The village lacks over 32 million and is home to many cultures,electricity, clean water, and sanitation, and the with an economy fuelled by its naturalclinic and primary school are in Sg Asap, which resources. The country has seen expansion inis some four hours away.the sectors of science, tourism, commerce andThe village of Kampung Gana in the district of medical tourism. Kota Marudu in northern Sabah, has over 3,000 Sarawak and Sabah are situated on the islandresidents and is made up of indigenous groups of Borneo, the third largest island in the worldincluding Dusun, Rungus, Bajau and Orang north of the Equator. Sarawak is known forSungai. This area suffers prolonged periods its rugged, dense rainforest and Sabah for itsof drought from June through to September, 4,095-metre-tall Mount Kinabalu.and both Long Tanyit and Kampung Gana are Long Tanyit has a population of 300, and is aadditionally challenged by climate change, remote Penan village deep within the Belagalogging, deforestation, and mining - polluting District of Sarawak, close to the Kalimantanthe air, sources of drinking water, and border. Within a forest area and accessible viathreatening the rich biodiversity of the area. logging tracks, many of the villagers are womenThe logging activities in particular continue to and young children, as the young men havedeprive the people of their much valued land migrated for jobs in the cities.and livelihoods. soroptimistinternational.org 26'