Camp Borneo helps better life of indigenous folk

PENAMPANG: Camps International (Asia) has taken an active role to help make a difference in the everyday lives of underprivileged groups in Sabah over the past five years.

The subsidiary of Camps International celebrated its fifth collaborative year with Partners of Community Organisations (PACOS Trust) on Friday, with its vision of promoting peace and unity among indigenous communities.

Melanie Chu, the general manager of Camp Borneo, which is under Camps International (Asia), said they were raising funds to aid PACOS Trust by allocating STG1 (RM4.61) from the daily expenses of each visitor to their camps.

“We put it into a fund for PACOS Trust and it is handed to the non-governmental organisation (NGO) to be used for various projects in Sabah. Camps International (Asia) provides long-term support to complement the NGO’s work through our capacity-building resources.

“We help receive visitors to each of our community project sites, facilitate their introduction to the indigenous people, their culture and lifestyle, and later, provide supervision and guidance for building projects that may be implemented for the community,” said Melanie, who presented a mock cheque to PACOS Trust for RM40,272 at the latter’s office here in aid of its ongoing efforts yesterday.

Camps International (Asia) and PACOS Trust have set up four camps in Sabah — Tinangol (Kudat), Kipouvo (Penampang), Mantanani (Kota Belud) and Bongkud (Ranau).

PACOS Trust is a community-based voluntary organisation set up to help raise the quality of life of indigenous communities.

Its executive director, Anne Lasimbang, said the assistance from Camp Borneo had helped it raise the profile and improve the livelihood of the local indigenous people.

She said PACOS Trust hoped to provide more educational resources in rural areas, especially for children, as well as projects to help improve the income of families.

Source: New Straits Times