IEEE (US) Humanitarian Activities Committee, IEEE Region 10, IEEE Sarawak and Swinburne Sarawak collaborated in organizing three humanitarian projects for communities in Sarawak.
These projects included Community Empowerment: Promoting Safe and Sustainable Food Production; Vulnerable Community Empowerment: Promoting Hygiene and Clean Water Production; Youth Empowerment; Tackling Challenges to Water-Energy-Food Security (WEF) Nexus.
In the Community Empowerment Project PROMOTING SAFE AND SUSTAINABLE FOOD
PRODUCTION, the five‐week project, successfully reached out to more than 65 local community members from various age groups and gender who live in the sub‐urban areas of Kuching, Sarawak. The activity was initiated and involved more than 20 IEEE students and members who volunteered in this project despite all difficulties encountered during the COVID19 pandemic.
From the post‐activities feedback: Most of the participants knew about home composting of household waste, but they have yet to try this at home due to the unpleasant smell of the compost. With the implementation of this project, participants responded positively to the project. They received an opportunity to bust the myths surrounding home composting and understand the provision to perform an informed composting process with measurements. They also realized the compost could be quickly produced at home with almost zero cost and minimal care needed in the overall process. This project delivered a positive note to the local communities on the significance of waste management towards a sustainable and cleaner future. Most of the time, food scraps from the kitchen have value to be recycled and relocated to other purposes. It is a low‐cost but environmentally friendly method to feed family gardens or cater for farming needs continuously. Participants loved the knowledge sharing workshop in this project and gained knowledge on alternatives to better utilize the food waste instead of treating them as trash. It was a new experience for the participants where they enjoyed carrying out the activities with their family during the pandemic and determined to share this information with their friends, relatives, or even colleagues.
In the Vulnerable Community Empowerment PROMOTING HYGIENE AND CLEAN WATER
PRODUCTION project, the activities such as the onsite knowledge-sharing workshops and practical sessions to the community on hygiene on the importance of clean portable water especially during the pandemic enlightened the villagers, having clean water and sanitation means the villagers being able to avoid exposure to countless diseases especially during the COVID19 pandemic.
The project serves as a platform for humanitarian efforts that provides a rewarding experience for the student members from different engineering backgrounds, boosting their personal development and understanding the world’s challenges today. The villagers find that the activities such as the onsite knowledge-sharing workshops and practical sessions on hygiene, the importance of clean potable water, especially during the pandemic, really enlightened the villagers, having clean water and sanitation means the villagers being able to avoid exposure to countless diseases, especially during the COVID19 pandemic. The community appreciated our team, who walked the extra mile to reach out to them; they requested us to revisit them with more valuable and straightforward technologies and activities to improve their livelihood.
In the Youth Empowerment Project TACKLING CHALLENGES TO WATER‐ENERGY‐FOOD
SECURITY (WEF) NEXUS, Humanitarian Knowledge and Technology Transfer related to WEF Nexus has happened throughout the main cities in Sarawak. From the youths’ feedback, they have learned the importance of the WEF in this pandemic era; the project has successfully achieved the objectives to spread awareness on the challenges faced in operationalizing the WEF Nexus, introduce the use of technological solutions and innovations to address the WEF Nexus challenges, and disseminate the idea of human-centred design in technological solutions to the youth community successfully.
From the 45 participants’ feedback, they have learned the importance of the WEF in this pandemic era; the project has successfully achieved the objectives to spread awareness on the challenges faced in operationalizing the WEF Nexus, introduce the use of technological solutions and innovations to address the WEF Nexus challenges, and disseminate the idea of human-centred design in technological solutions to the youth community successfully.
Photos-of-WorkshopMore Info about the projects: https://r10htc2020.org/projects/
