|
LA21
TRANS Boundary Treasure Hunt from Petaling Jaya to Parit
Buntar and Bukit Merah Laketown Resort on 6th October was a
great success for the branch, particularly the Pathfinder
SIG, whose volunteers tirelessly marshalled, organised and
nursed along 57 cars on the nature hunt.
The
end result was a donation to MNS’s Education Fund of RM15,000,
and the same amount to the Perak Palliative Care Society.
The
event was organised under the auspices of the Ministry of Housing
and Local Government, partnered by Majlis Perbandaran Petaling
Jaya and Majlis Daerah Kerian. A key organiser was Liani Alymann,
who used to work with MNS but is now a consultant with the
Local Agenda 21 team at the Ministry.
It
is unfair to single out just a few names when so much effort went
into the event from all corners, but we cannot overlook our
Pathfinder coordinator, Soong Wye Ping, who undertook so much of
the organisation and detail. As a direct result of this event, she
and the core team built up a good rapport with many government
officials.
For
those who know little about LA21, it is an initiative that arose
out of the Rio Earth Summit for Sustainable Development in 1992.
To quote the information leaflet, “Agenda 21 recognises that
many (development) problems as well as their solutions lie in
local activities. As such, it called for communities and local
governments to forge strategic partnerships to manage their
environment in a sustainable way, thus creating their Local Agenda
21 (LA21). The programme seeks to increase the participation of
local communities with local authorities to:
1.
address local social and economic issues;
2.
address local conservation, resource management and
development issues;
3.
enhance the roles of various groups in the local community
in promoting sustainable development; and
4.
encourage a more sustainable approach to local
development.”
This fundraising project benefited the MNS Education
Fund to help run the Kelab Pencinta Alam programmes in schools and
the Perak Palliative Care Society to ensure that both ends of the
treasure hunt developed new connections.
Profuse thanks to more than 30 members who came forward
(many for the first time or a long time) to put in time and effort
for a good cause. Thanks to the coordinators of Pathfinders who
volunteered to suffer sleep deprivation, heat and exhaustion. They
saw their efforts bear fruit.
The Treasure Hunt was not just a members’ event. We
had many public participants in 56 cars, with a total of 224
participants. If we had depended on members alone, it would have
flopped because the response was really weak from MNS members. The
lesson learnt is that we can and should approach the public with
interesting events and raise funds as a result of that effort.
The Press was invited and cost sponsored by the branch,
and they reciprocated with lots of good publicity and awareness.
At the end of the two-day event, many participants asked if we
could do it annually. Wait a bit, lah.
– Angela Hijjas
.
|
