LIMBANG, Aug 21 -- Lun Bawang communities in Long Kerabangan and Long Tanid, located in a remote area in Lawas district in northern part of the state can now enjoy 24-hours electricity supply thanks to Barefoot Mercy, a local Non-Govermental Organisation (NGO) for their iniatives of installing RM55,000 mini-hydro project.Barefoot Mercy spokewoman Anna Wee said previously these two villages relied only diesel power generators that cost RM10 per night to run these generators.Barefoot Mercy is a local non-profit group made up of concerned citizens, whose mission and vision is to bridge the resources of urban or city folks to the needs of rural indigenous communities of Sarawak. ââââÅ¡¬Å“This community-based micro-hydro projects was made possible by the pooling together of firstly, funds and contributions from individuals (mostly Malaysians) all over the world including West Malaysia, secondly technical know-how and assistance by our partner, LightUp Borneo and lastly, the involvement and participation of the villagers themselves who worked hard in the spirit of ââââÅ¡¬'gotong-royongââââÅ¡¬' to install the systems.ââââÅ¡¬ she said.She said fund-raising took about four months from November 2011 and a total of about RM70,000 was raised with the implementation including site assessment, consultations with the local communities concerned and later fabrication and installation, also took about four months."Although earlier fund-raising was for the purpose of the project at Long Kerabangan, one of the neighbouring village Long Tanid was added on as it required relatively low costs for its installation and a well-wisher who donated cables meant that there was funds to free up for Long TanidââââÅ¡¬'s request. Both systems was completed in early July 2012,"she said.-- fotoBERNAMA (2012) COPYRIGHT RESERVED

photographed by: BERNAMA