Hey Adriene

INCREDIBLE BEACH CLEAN-UP AT RANTAU ABANG, MARCH 05

Jarina asked me to do a writeup for the MNS magazine:

What can 20-odd unskilled volunteers achieve in 2 hours x 2 days? Try a Majlis Daerah Dungun garbage truck packed to the brim with sacks of garbage. And I was one of the volunteers, woo!

The adventure began on Friday night, 12 March, when a group of 20 volunteers gathered at KL Sentral for a weekend trip to D'Pengkalan Resort in Rantau Abang, Terengganu. This trip wasn't just any old excursion. These people were on a mission! They had responded to Jarina Jani's open invitation to clean up a stretch of Rantau Abang beach. We traveled there and back by chartered bus.

Not everyone knew everyone as we all came from different backgrounds. Some of us had even come alone, without knowing a single other person (more power to you folks!). Jarina was great at briefing us clearly about what to expect and quickly put us all at ease. Friendships quickly formed and happy chatter were soon heard because everyone was so friendly, approachable and excited about the trip.

The freezing cold bus journey was from 10.30pm - 5.30am the next morning. We slept on our seats in sleeping bags. On arrival at D'Pengkalan, we were given a quick briefing by Encik Razali, the owner of the resort and we quickly checked into our rooms. Accommodation was basic but more than adequate for our simple needs. The food that was served to us throughout the weekend was also yum yum!

Let me tell you about D'Pengkalan Beach Resort, the place where we stayed. It is a truly special place. It's positioned as a "3-world resort" and rightly so because it is located within 2-minutes walk of a) the open South China Sea, b) the freshwater river and c) secondary forest for trekking. What more could a nature lover ask for?

Over the next two days, we had lots of free time and lots of fun swimming in the sea and river, trekking, kayaking in the river (kayaks supplied by the resort!), collecting sea shells, taking photos of the gorgeous scenery. A few of us even traveled to Dungun to check out the hustle and bustle of the wet market.

But most importantly, we fulfilled our mission of cleaning up the stretch of beach by D'Pengkalan Resort. All in all, we spent four solid hours - two hours in the late Saturday evening and another two hours on Sunday morning - clearing up all sorts of garbage from the beach. Debris mainly. It's incredible, or rather it's horrible, what the sea washes up, and what kind of stuff ends up in the ocean. We found loads of polystyrene, glass bottles and jars, cigarette lighters, fluorescent tube lamps, used syringes, slippers and bits and pieces of plastic. I am now convinced that polystyrene is evil and will avoid using it as far as possible from now on.

Encik Razali also kindly organised a "keropok lekor"-making demonstration for us on Saturday night. We had the grand opportunity to participate in pounding, mashing and kneading the keropok "dough" and then deep-fry it right away. Talk about fresh fish sausages. What a treat!

My personal highlight of the weekend had to be when a group of us slept on the sandy beach on Saturday night with literally thousands of stars above us. I saw half a dozen shooting stars.

We returned to KL by the same chartered bus on Sunday afternoon. Once again, our vehicle was abuzz with lively chatter because initial shy friendships had grown even stronger over the weekend. We have since formed an informal Rantau Abang beach clean-up alumni, with a very active mailing list and occasional gatherings.

This beach clean-up will be a bi-monthly affair from now on, with the next one scheduled for May and led by Azura. Look out for details in a MNS newsletter near you and sign up quick as places are limited. I know I will!

I'd like to take this opportunity to give special props to Jarina for organising such a wonderful weekend and for inviting me to write this little article. She is ever bubbly, energetic and incredibly passionate about the environment. Her "positivity" shines! And infects people! I asked her, how on earth does she keep it up? I don't think I'll ever forget her answer. She responded, with a twinkle in her eye, "I have enough enthusiasm for everyone!"

I think, our wonderful earth is even more beautiful with people like her!

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