Working with Good Shepherd Services has been a roller-coaster experience for me, thus far. Full of surprises and most importantly the exciting mysteries I will be experiencing tomorrow. It has yet to be my first-year anniversary with GSS and some may think that it’s still too early for me to say this – but I can confidently write, and say that working with GSS will definitely be one of the many great memories I will reminisce for when I am unable to sleep, in my late 70s.

On my third week of joining the organisation, I was given the opportunity to join my team for my first fieldtrip to Kg. Masaum, Tongod. Never had I thought of going to Tongod, as I never really had any reason to travel that far before. Come the day of the fieldtrip, I was genuinely excited and ecstatic! Throughout the journey of 6 hours’ drive, I fell asleep a few times, woke up a few times, and we still have not reached our destination yet! I even got carsick during that trip. Honestly, I did think to myself, “Even the journey of going to the project site is already this challenging. How am I to face tomorrow – when meeting with the project participants? Will I be able to hold on, working with this organisation ...?"  With an aching lower back, and a dizzy head, we finally arrived at the accommodation we were renting for the night, and I went straight to bed after cleaning myself up, totally knocked-out.

Located deep inside Tongod and surrounded with palm oil estates, Kg. Masaum is a village that still has no electricity supplies and access to clean water. We travelled as early as 6.00am and it was the first time I met the project participants. Since I was still new, my team members delivered the session and I was tasked with entertaining the children of the participants. During the session, I had the chance to make small talk with their kids. Truthfully speaking, I realised how privileged I had been this whole time. The sharing the children gave me about their daily lives was eye-opening. The things I had been taking for granted, was an opportunity they could only dream about and would never give away. That very moment, that particular trip was the exact time where I realised that the work done in GSS is not a work that everyone is willing to voluntarily do.

The project we did with Kg. Masaum, Tongod focuses on producing green products through green energies – Solar. The idea of green practices was still new to them, but they are familiar with it. With the emerging usage of solar powered appliances, the villagers in Kg. Masaum had installed mostly solar lights and solar fans in their own houses reducing their dependency on fuel-powered generators. However, in terms of other green practices such as minimal or zero waste lifestyle and upcycling, these concepts are foreign to them, and even to me myself! Through this project, we were able to advocate and learn together with the women in Kg. Masaum, on how to lead a life conducting green practices. 

Aside from that, I also realised how my personal skills improved over time. From being the shy girl with a shaky voice when talking to a crowd, to being someone who can confidently speak with a clear voice to strangers.

All in all, I believe that there is tons more to learn, from the communities we serve, the families we met, and of course from my comrades that I met in GSS and the organisation’s partners. Through this write up, I hope that I have managed to bring you on a short adventure – on what it feels like to be working with the community in rural areas. Now it has been months of me working with GSS, and with each day passing by, it still feels like I am walking into a new perspective, with different things to learn every day.