OBSERVATION TIME FROM 11 PM TO 2:30 AM
DATE: 22/11/2019
Cardboard community environment is uncomfortable and many people will pass by and go through at the day. Normally, they sleep or rest at the roadways, mosque, parks and under bridges. They just sleep on chairs or floor by using cardboards. Cardboard is equal to their beds. The environment is a little bit cold during the night and got mosquitoes.
This was my first time to join a community service related to cardboard community at night. We arrived there around 11 pm and started with briefings from Sir Rudy. He explained the factor of why the cardboard community occurs and so on. He is a committee from an NGO related to the cardboard community. He and his teams lead us where to find the cardboard community and took care of our safety at the same time.
Before starting the journey of food giving, the organizer put the second-hand clothes on flood to let the cardboard community chose their favorite one. The second-hand clothes that were collected before the activity day. We walked around Komtar area and nearby areas to looking for the cardboard community and give them food. The total walking time was around 2 hours and the total walking distance was 3 km.
The most unforgettable moment was a mother with a baby. The organizer gave the mother a hamper which is packed with baby stuff and milk powders. It is quite sad to see that kind of situation happened. I did not expect a baby is needed to sleep at the side roadway too. This kind of environment is not suitable for the baby. All the cardboard community received the food with a smiley face, it made us feel more energized.
After we finished our task, we took rest at Komtar JBCC there. We experienced to be a cardboard community for around 1 hour. We put the cardboard on the floor and slept on that. I cannot sleep very well although I was sleepy and tired because of the mosquito bite me. The flood is too hard to sleep.
After participating in that community service, I feel very thankful. I am appreciated and blessed that I have a place to stay, and it is too comfortable if compared to them. In the future, I will donate to the relating NGO to help the cardboard community. When I am free, I will join this kind of community service as a volunteer to help them.