Notice of Postponement of REACH 24th Annual General Meeting

29th February 2024

Dear Reach members,

Please be informed that REACH 24th Annual General Meeting which was originally scheduled on the 3rd of March 2024 has been postponed to the date as follows:

Date                : 17th March 2024

Time               : 3.00 pm

Venue              : Avillion Hotel, C3, Jalan Camelia, Tanah Rata, Cameron Highlands

Agenda:-

  1. President’s welcoming address
  2. To confirm the minutes of the 23th Annual General Meeting
  3. To adopt the Annual Report 2023
  4. To approve the Audited Statement of Accounts ending 31st December 2023
  5. To consider any other matters of which 7 clear day’s notice shall have been given in writing to the secretary.
  6. President’s closing speech.

We thank you for your understanding and appreciate your attendance.

Sincerely,

Dr Cheam May Choo

Secretary

 

Empowering Communities through Sustainable Education

A Report on Engaging Orang Asli, Government Schools, and Special Needs Children in Cameron
Highlands

by Anaya Dhanoa

“As the leader of a sustainability project with REACH in Cameron Highlands, I am Anaya, a 16-year-old student from Garden International School, who lives in Kuala Lumpur. This report encapsulates our collaborative efforts with the diverse communities of Cameron Highlands to promote eco-consciousness and environmentally-friendly practices. Collaborating with Orang Asli children, mothers, government school students, and special needs children, the program focused on practical eco-friendly activities like making soap from used cooking oil, composting organic kitchen waste, and creating reusable bags. Workshops were conducted in local villages and schools. These efforts empowered women with new  skills and encouraged creativity among participants while emphasising the importance of
reducing plastic usage. The engagement with government school children integrated sustainable practices into their curriculum, offering practical sessions on soap-making from scratch and
organic waste management. This hands-on approach led to increased awareness and
a deeper understanding of environmental issues among the participants, fostering a
sense of community cohesion and environmental stewardship.
The project’s success showcased heightened awareness and comprehension of
sustainable practices, emphasising the significance of continued support for such
initiatives. REACH, a proactive organisation dedicated to community development and
sustainability, played a crucial role in coordinating partnerships and workshops. Their
expertise in community engagement facilitated impactful collaborations, fueling
collective efforts towards environmental education and social unity in Cameron
Highlands.”

CIMB Foundation awards grant to REACH for reforestation

We are pleased to inform that CIMB Foundation has awarded a grant of RM 83000 to Reach in September 2023. This would be the 3rd time that CIMB has supported our efforts since Reach was founded.  CIMB first programme with us was  ” ReAct- Trash is Cash” project involving Recycling activities with local schools. Subsequently in 2015 , CIMB awarded a RM 50,000  grant for ” Save the cloud forest” reforestation project. This latest grant is also for similar activities and we are pleased that we have ” Hit the ground running”.4 wheel vehicles will transport students and teachers from pick up points in town to the biodiversity site in Gunung Brinchang .For students from indigenous schools , buses will be used to transport them from the interior to the pick up areas where 4 wheel vehicles would take over. Upon arrival at the base of the biod site, they would walk up some 200m to the centre up a steep road.There would be a short briefing and a demo on how to plant the saplings. Each participant would be given 1 sapling to plant . After the tree planting there will be a short nature walk at the grounds of the biodiversity centre. The program usually starts at 8.30am  and conclude by 12noon. Light refreshments are provided. Trees planted include geruk, rhododendrons, minyak beruk, kelat, garcinia, eugenia,ara,Reach committee would like to thank CIMB Foundation for lending us a helping hand.

Reforestation activities carried out to date:

27th Sept 23 -SMK Sultan Ahmad Shah. 44 students and 6 teachers from Form 6 participated. 50 saplings were planted. 4th Oct 23- SJKC Tanah Rata. 30 students and 2 teachers took part. 32 saplings were planted

More 3R programme in the month of September 2023

oleh Saraswathi  

20hb September 2023- SJKT Blue Valley, 36 orang murid dari Tahun 1 higgga 6. Dibantu oleh Cikgu Selvaranee dan Kiroosha. Tahun 1 dan 2: mewarna kertas yang disediakan oleh REACH.Tahun 3 dan 4: aktiviti melukis dan kolaj menggunakan majalah lama.Tahun 5 dan 6: melakar poster dengan slogan alam sekitar.Setiap aktiviti yang dilakukan  diberikan hadiah.

21hb September 2023-56 orang murid dari SJKC Tringkap. Dibantu oleh Shangeetha dan Kiroosha.Tahun 4: mereka diberikan keratan global untuk diwarna dan dalamnya dengan ditulis slogan.Tahun 5 dan 6: diagihkan mengikut kumpulan 6 orang. Diberikan tajuk “ membina model menggunakan botol plastic yang terpakai”

 

Program 3R pada bulan August 2023

oleh Saraswathi

22hb August 2023- SJKT Tanah Rata.

20 orang murid dari Tahun 4 hingga 6mengambil bahagian. Facilitators ialah Datin Aseema, Abhinasree, Cikgu Vasantha dan Saras. Aktiviti pertama  tentang KOMPOS dan Bengkel Kerja.Penerangan secara ringkas diberikan kepada murid-murid tentang pengetahuan KOMPOS. Tentang  pengasingan sampah dan mengurangkan sampah dari dapur sendiri dan cara membuat baja kompos dengan bahan buangan organik dapur. Pelajar-pelajar juga membuat seni kraf tangan dari bahan-bahan yang boleh dikitar semula, sebagai aktiviti kedua.

 

23hb August 2023-SK Kampung Raja

112 orang murid dari Tahun 4,5 dan 6 mengambil bahagian. Program ini dikendali oleh Puan Jay,Abhinasree dan Saras bersama cikgu cikgu sekolah

 

Kemaman Bitumen Sdn Bhd continues to support REACH Conservation Work in the Cloud Forest

Since 2018, when Kemaman Bitumen Sdn Bhd first knew of the conservation work REACH was doing in Cameron Highlands , they have been our regular supporter. We are delighted that Kemaman Bitumen has this uncanny ability of knowing when we are in need of funds and as with other years, invited us to write in. On the 17th of August 2023 Reach received a grant of RM15,000 from Kemaman Bitumen and this would be the 5th time that Kemaman Bitumen has donated to REACH. Only this time Kemaman Bitumen together with Eastern Soldar Engineering ,donated their skills and energy as well, after finding out our pond at the Biodiversity Site was leaking and eroding the foundations of the Nissen Huts. The pond is to serve as a watering hole for the animals and birds.( Eastern Soldar Engineering is a premier provider of engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning services for the oil and gas industry). Discussions on the pond work were started on the 7th of April 2023. This was followed by a site visit on the  26th of May 2023. Repair of the pond would be done in 2 phases. The first phase would be the preparation of the ground work including laying a brick wall, building one barn and 2 sumps, by REACH’s contractor  Mr Kumaresan. The second phase would be layering the waterproof sheet, anchoring it and the finishing works. This would be done and sponsored by Kemaman Bitumen/Eastern Soldar. The guard rails by the road would also be repaired as well.

The works were completed on the 12th of August 2023. REACH would like to once again thank Mr Sanjay Grover ,CEO of Kemaman Bitumen for continuing to support REACH, Dato David Toh, MD of Eastern Soldar, Mr Kevin Toh and Mr Arnold for ensuring all the layouts & diagrams are in order, Mr Ong Soon Min , Mr Ng for ensuring all site work are smooth and the rest of the team from Eastern Soldar. REACH would also like to thank our main contractor Mr Kumaresan for working with various people & instructions and ensuring all work is done despite the obstacles and bad weather. Lastly REACH would like to thank Mr Roy, our committee member, for coordinating all these efforts.More pictures to follow: