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| The usual sights for villagers |
The Mari Mari Resort is sited by a long
stretch of beach on Sepanggar Island; an island located off Kota Kinabalu. The
island can be seen from the city centre and from Likas Bay.
There is a small village there, where
some 300 people reside. The people there are mostly descended from seafarers
and traditionally they are fishermen.
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| One of the houses |
They have settled on the island many
years ago, building their homes on a nice shore with shady trees along it.
There is a school there now and the community thrives on what they can from the
sea and shore as well as mangroves.
However, the younger generations are
yearning for more and better source of income, as the sea is not always
friendly and magnanimous.
Therefore the presence of the resort at
the island is a godsend to the islanders as they can get employment with the
resort in its various departments. The public area, kitchen and
housekeeping are areas where the people there can work in as they can go on the
job training.
Siti Norijah hj Salleh, one of the
housekeeping staff said she is very happy to be employed by the resort as it
has allowed them to go forward in self-development. This is the place where she can meet
people from all over the world, opening her mind to other people’s cultural
norms.
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| Norijah (left) and Noridah |
On the economic level, she said it is
also a great change to work in the resort as she can earn a livelihood. According to her, in the past they
depended on the sea for their livelihood.
"It was tough as we had to scour
the sea for our food," she said, adding that if they want to keep food,
they had to reheat the cooked fish and shells or mud creepers everyday. Without a fridge, everything had to be
consumed at once or reheated everyday.
The little they can sell would not bring
them much relief but they had to make do at that time. They also had to use firewood for their
kitchen, which was easy due to the abundance of driftwood.
"However we also want to enjoy
modern amenities like our village counterparts all over the State."
With money garnered from their job in
the resort, they manage to supplement their household income and buy necessary
items. This includes generators for electricity
and modern cooking utensils.
There are 25 villagers employed with the
resort, five of them in their 20s.
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| Lijah massaging a guest's leg |
"Some of our youth go to the city to
work in any kind of jobs. It is difficult for them as they have to rent a place
to stay in the city. So I believe we are
lucky to get jobs in the resort,” she shared.
Her colleague Noridah Majok who is also
in her 40s echoed her adding that the establishment of the resort helped them
in many ways.
She hoped the resort will keep on
prospering and expand to allow more employment for the villagers.
Lijah Sala, 21, is a masseur who has
been with the resort for four months.
She is a traditional masseur who learnt
the skill from her parents and grandparents. She is very thorough in her massage
skills having serviced people who are three to four times her size.
This diminutive girl shared that her
husband is jobless and the job was a boon to her, being the sole income earner.
"I am very fortunate to inherit these
skills from my parents and grandparents as it can help me to earn an income. I
am also grateful for this job," she said.
Many of her relatives including her
brother, grandmother and aunt as well as her mother are also working with the
resort.
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| Villager's livestock |
On the future, she hoped the resort will
prosper for many years to come and expand so that more villagers will have
employment at the island, She also hoped to acquire advance skills in massage
therapy to ensure a bright future in the industry.
These people who work at the back of the house are the ones who ensure that guests and visitors enjoy good services and good food They should always be acknowledged for their efforts.-pw/MSN
