PETALING JAYA: Ninety children, from 15 schools in the Klang Valley, were given a crash course in survival skills last week, where they not only got to know and experience Mother Nature, but also learned how to survive in the forest.
The programme, called Putra Rimba Rimbun, was organised by the Rimbun Foundation in collaboration with Universiti Putra Malaysia’s Institute of Tropical Forestry and Forest Products.
The activities were carried out at the Sultan Idris Shah Forestry Education Centre in the Ayer Hitam forest reserve in Puchong and at Introp in Serdang.
The children were taught how to use a compass, find shelter, and build their own shelters during the day-long survival skills lesson, last Wednesday.
They were also taught how to find safe drinking water and food, and to build a fire among other skills.
Rimbun Foundation is the corporate social responsibility (CSR) arm of Rimbun Capital Sdn Bhd, a corporate recovery and project rehabilitation specialist.
Foundation chairman and programme adviser, Datuk Raveendra Kumar Nathan told theSun that the company began its CSR effort 10 years ago, with visits to old folk homes and orphanages to distribute essential items such as books, clothes, shoes and food.
“But we didn’t see too much value in just giving away items. We realised that we needed a long-term engagement plan to see greater value,” he said.
He said programmes such as the forest survival skills lessons also made learning fun and would attract students.
“There are many ways to learn, by reading, seeing and doing things. Some students do not learn so well through theory but perform well in practical lessons,” Raveendra pointed out.
“So if we make learning fun by giving them lessons related to life, they will learn even faster and remember (these lessons) longer.”
