- nabalunews
Prayers and gratitude at community hall
20 November 2023
By AVV
PENAMPANG: Two of the most important places of gathering in villages is the chapel and the community Hall.
The chapel and community hall often serve as venues for various social and cultural activities that bring the community together.
These activities can include religious services, weddings, funerals, community celebrations, festivals, concerts, theater performances, and other events that foster a sense of belonging and unity within the village.
In Kg, Timpangoh, Sugud, located in Penampang, the church and community hall in the village served as important gathering places for the community.
However, due to the aging condition of the chapel, the residents made the decision to rebuild it.
During the construction period, the community faced the challenge of finding an alternative space for their worship activities.
As a result, they temporarily relocated their place of worship to the village's Community Hall.
The Community Hall, although accommodating, had its own set of issues. Over the years, it had experienced wear and tear, resulting in leaking roofs and unsightly surroundings.
The aging infrastructure posed challenges for the community in terms of maintaining a conducive environment for their religious practices and community activities. The leaking roofs not only affected the overall aesthetics but also caused inconvenience during rainy seasons. The unsightly areas around the hall further detracted from the sense of pride and unity within the community.
“I saw this when I came for a function and official visit here recently. I knew how uncomfortable it must have been for the people here as we saw how the roof leaked while we were sitting here. I therefore decided to request for a fund to repair the community hall from our Penampang Member of Parliament, Datuk Ewon Benedick,” Carl Mosoom, the Minister’s Political Secretary shares.
Fortunately, Ewon, who also serves as the Minister of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperative, graciously agreed to provide RM35,000 for the repair of the community hall.
This generous funding allowed for the necessary repairs to the roof, significantly improving its condition.
“The community hall’s roof is now fixed and it looks much better than it did in the past. We are now looking at the surrounding to see if we can fix it enough so that it can be conducive for vendors on Sunday,” he said, adding that it would help the community around as they could buy and sell at that time.
Carl, who grew up in Sugud shared that the repaired community hall and the potential development of a marketplace on Sundays would not only enhance the aesthetics of the area but also provide economic opportunities for the community.
It offers a platform for local vendors to showcase their products and services while fostering economic growth and community interaction.
The chapel in Timpango serves approximately 70 people from within the village. However, at times, worshippers from other areas in Sugud and Terian would also come and gather in the church. When this happens, the small community hall becomes inadequate to comfortably accommodate all the worshippers.
According to Cyril Ubil the contractor in charge of the building and renovations of both establishments said the chalet was expected to be completed by the end of the year, or early next year.
Michael Sipajon, the District Chairman of UPKO Voting area, expressed gratitude on behalf of the community, especially the churchgoers, for the contribution.
He acknowledged that since Ewon became the Member of Parliament, they have witnessed significant improvements in administration.
According to him, Ewon, who is not only the MP but also the President of UPKO, has been doing an exceptional job in serving the community.
As for the two establishments there, the chapel which would be able to accommodate more people would soon have its congregation back, while the community hall would return to being the centre of activities and social gathering by the people of Kg Timpango.
