River Clean-up Project by Sri KDU Secondary School

SRI KDU Secondary School
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 22 Mar 09

Sri KDU River Rangers in aid of Project Laos 2009

Access to clean water and poverty eradication - This is the dual- pronged approach used by the Reaching Out Club of Sri KDU Secondary School to help impoverished persons in a Laotian village. A project initiated by the school and the school’s Parent-Teacher Association, the planning and implementation is spearheaded by the Reaching Out Club.

The Club aims to finance the construction of a well for the village in Laos and introduce income - generating activities for the villagers . In line with the water theme, we decided to initiate a fund-raiser that culminates in a river clean-up activity on World Water Day. Students collected donations and pledged to be involved in the river clean-up project.

Students were asked to attend a River Rangers training program conducted by Global Environment Centre (GEC) . Armed with the necessary theory and practical knowledge of water quality and river management , the students will not only clean up the river, but also monitor the water quality periodically.

Two stretches of river have been identified for the river clean-up, these being a Penchala river tributary (Anak Sungai Rimba Kiara) and the Sungai Way River. The school will adopt Anak Sungai Rimba Kiara and monitor the water quality every two months.

14 March 2009

The River Rangers training program was conducted at the school and a practical session was held at the source of the Penchala river. Students conducted four types of tests, these being chemical, biological, physical and hydrology. 44 Sri KDU students are now officially certified as River Rangers by Global Environment Centre, Malaysian chapter.

The Sri KDU River Rangers will turn up full force to clean the two stretches of river on World Water Day.

The school aims to raise RM 40,000 to help an impoverished village in Laos. As far as the theme of World Water Day 2009 is concerned (Transboundary Water), the students taking part in the trip to Laos in June 2009 will visit the Mekong River, a natural boundary between Laos and Vietnam.

22 March 2009

The much-awaited day came. Sri KDU River Rangers started off the day by cleaning the a 200 metre stretch of Anak Sungai Rimba Kiara, a tributary of Penchala river. This constitutes a small part of the river's middle part.

First, the students conducted some tests using the Young River Scientist kit, knowledge they had picked up during the River Rangers training. Then, armed with gloves and boots, the students went into the tiny stream and picked up the rubbish. Actually, it was more wrestle the garbage out of the river bed. No surprise here, most of the garbage was plastic. After 2 hours, the students took a break.

We then proceeded to another river, this time down stream to Sungai Way, a heavily-polluted river. This was heavy-duty cleanup, with not just plastic trash, but all kinds of things that one can imagine, even mattresses! The students were exhausted after the event, but filled with joy at the sight of a free-flowing river, with no trash in sight.

For more information and pictures, visit http://www.srikdu.edu.my/news/

For enquiries, please contact Mr.Azhar Muhammad at amuhammad@srikdu.edu.my .

Contact: Azhar Muhammad