RUBBER REPLANTING PROJECT

We embarked on a replanting project a few years ago to make good some parcels of land belonging to the family. When grandma was alive much of it was left unattended because of her failing health. Hence, the first responsibility was to find the boundary markers or the border stones. It was a rather daunting task as the land had become overgrown, much like a secondary jungle!

Here is our man Lukman, with one of the markers at Pondoi, near Tampin.

A small river cuts through the further end of this lot and it provides a rather picturesque scene. Here are Din with my SIL Halijah, enjoying a breather.

As part of the deal with RISDA that provides assistance to small holders of rubber land, we had to clear and till the land before any aid could be disbursed. As the land was an ex-rubber land, there was lesser concern over the state of the soil.

Here are my brother and my SIL trudging over the cleared land.

A second lot was also cleared and we brought in a tractor to till the land and to get rid of any old trunks or roots. That was quite an undertaking and it cost quite a pile! Apparently this was the evidence RISDA needed to see if smallholders were serious!

The Augur was used to dig the holes for the seedlings. Here is a demo for Lukman. He found it very useful.....it made the job much easier.

Din couldn't resist from getting his hands to it too!

It made a nice clean hole , alright!

We made a few trips back to check on the progress. It has been like 5 years now and the trees are lovingly manage by our man, Lukman. He takes on the job of clearing the land, fertilizing the plants and ensuring the security of the place from unwelcome livestock such as stray cows and goats from the neighbourhood. We have had a bad experience at another place where even people used the land as a short cut and destroyed the fencing. As for stray livestock ...they were simply about....

All for one and one for all!

First Days

Amongst the many first days we step into in the course of our lives, one that must invoke many memories later on is our first day in school. 3rd January, 2011 was indeed an important day for many Malaysian kids especially for my grand-daughter, Anyssa Farhana and her younger brother, Amyr Faiq. Spirits have been on a high note since November, 2010 with each collection of new school uniforms, white canvas shoes, bags and other items pupils need, were put together.

When the big day came their parents were most busy. Fortunately the kids are attending different sessions, Amyr attends the morning session at a nearby kindergarten while Anyssa, the afternoon session at a primary school. I understand they settled down very well in no time. Anyssa even met a friend from her former kindergarten and they both knocked off very well. Soon she was going round the class, chatting! Make no mistake...she had been known as a chatterbox in the kindergarten! I'd like to take it as we always encourage he to speak up!

Amyr seemed enthusiastic about being in school. Here he is doing his first homework! Finally he was learning something new even if it was the letter "A".

Here is Anyssa on her first day to kingerten two years ago and now in primary school. How time flies!

I reminise over my own time with my own children on their first day of school and indeed all their school lives. I remember my daughter, Azreen, would now and then turn her head to the kinderten class window to check if I was still around. When she was 6 years old, the family accompanied Papa Din, to the USA for his training in Menlo Park, California. We stayed in Mountain View and Azreen attended the Monta Loma Junior School. Yes, US kids start junior school at the age of 6. There was no school uniform and security of the kids were tight. The teacher sent the kids to their school buses while I waited for Azreen at her stop point near our apartment. One day, she fell asleep in the bus and forgot to pick up her new double-sided jacket before getting down. I only realised it on the next day!

I do not remember much about my own first day in school though. There was no kindergarten those days. When my elder brother went to school, dad thought it would be a good idea to put me in school too. So I was indeed put to "sit in" Standard 1 at the age of 5 years under the eyes of a relative, Cikgu Zaharah, who was also the class teacher. I understand, the idea caught on with her when she too had her son "sit in" in her class later after I had left.

I don't recall much of the Alor Gajah Malay Sshool but I did find out much, much later that I did have a report book that reflected that I did not do too badly, considering!I recall sitting for an exam or test with a tummy ache. A senior student, a relative, took care of me while in school and attended to my needs in the tuckshop and washroom. BTW, the tuckshop was really a simple stall built of wood and attap while the lone washroom was an enclosed well area.

There would be a number of first days as I went to different schools later on. Dad was a government servant who got transferred to various towns quite often. I had been in schools in Malacca, Kota Bahru, Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur and Seremban. It was nice to know and have friends in various parts of the country!