Uob's camping solar initiative illuminates houses in the remote Malaysian village

[SINGAPORE] More than 70 inhabitants in a small, remote village in Perak on the Malaysia peninsula now have access to electricity and no longer have to rely on diesel, which is expensive and can be dangerous.

This was made possible by the Campaign Solar Initiative of UOB, in which the volunteers of the bank employees travel to villages without electricity to install solar collectors.

More than 37,000 houses on the rural Peninsula Malaysia are so remote that it is not possible that they are connected to the national power grid.

Around 30 volunteers from Uob's Southeast Asian offices of UOB-Wie in Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam, collected in July on the UOB Plaza Kuala Lumpur to take a long journey to the village and to survive a bus and a theater.

Wan Ahmad Naufal Wan Mohd Nazmi, Management Associate at UOB Malaysia and one of the volunteers remembered: “The trip itself was.

When the volunteers finally arrived in Orang Asli Kampung Kelian, they were greeted by the inhabitants of a small village who had a completely different lifestyle.

“I was completely impressed by how different the environment was when I was used to it. There were no telephone reception, and we were of dense green, Durian trees that grew next to the houses of the villagers, and wildly grew,” he added.

The volunteers soon met representatives of the Sols Foundation, a beneficiary of UOB Malaysia, who supports the rural orang Asli or indigenous community.

They helped installing 150 units of solar collectors for around 20 households. This was the second time that camping solar went to work. Last year volunteers traveled to two other Orang Asli settlements in Perak.

Leonard Tan, head of social responsibility (CSR) at UOB, said that the bank's CSR initiatives were “thoughtful to the special needs of the communities” in the markets on which UOB works.

“By expanding our support beyond Singapore and helping under -provoked communities, we want to build a more integrative, more resilient and future Asean for our people,” he added.

Life on promises

Wan Ahmad spoke about Kelian and noticed: “The houses were very simple, made of bamboo and wooden boards, with roofs made of tree leaves.

This is expensive and not sustainable and also represents a security risk to the villagers – since the site is in the jungle, they often encounter wild animals after dark.

“Every household was strongly based on diesel and used around five to 10 tanks a month depending on the family size, which can be a financial burden,” he added.

The solar collectors offer a consistent power source, and this gives the village a layer of security.

Another volunteer, Nguyen Phi Phuong, Vice President of the Market and Liquidity risk at UOB Vietnam, said: “The installation of solar collectors brings light into the village, which makes your life easier for activities and makes traveling through the village easier at night. “

Trained professionals from the Sols Foundation helped the volunteers to install. The volunteers installed the light and battery packs in the houses of the villagers and brought them to how the system was operated.

Phuong said: “The coaches of the Sols Foundation were very friendly and specialized in order to guide everyone in the installation and the use and maintenance of the solar panel.”

The village director Ismail Alung, who spoke on behalf of the villagers, said they were “hopeful and grateful” to the UOB and Sols Foundation.

“We no longer have to buy daSel oil for our lights. This gives us a feeling of lightness, as this means that we can save money when we get sick or if we want to buy food or something else. We can do something with the money – even insert into the bank for emergencies,” he added.

Representatives of the Sols Foundation will check the installations in the six -month and one -year grades.

In addition to the installations, the UOB volunteers also carried out a workshop for financial competence for the villagers who now have more means because they no longer have to pay for diesel. The workshop taught them how they can manage their potential financial savings.

The volunteers said that communication was a challenge on this trip. The villagers spoke in their own indigenous dialect and were “understandably reserved” when they interacted with the visitors, Wan Ahmad noticed.

“This language barrier had to re -formulate questions and statements several times to ensure a mutual understanding. The structure of trust and report took time, but patience and respectful commitment contributed to closing the gap.”

Both he and Phuong said that the overall experience was valuable and they would do it again.

Wan Ahmad added: “(Camp solar) is not just about lighting – it is about improving security, enabling the connection and improving the quality of life.”

UOB's partnership with the Sols Foundation started in 2022, whereby the bank made young people from rural communities who travel to Kuala Lumpur, the Solar Academy scholarship for the solar industry.

As part of the scholarship, you will receive practical training and mentorship. Students who complete the program and conclude with award receive full -time employment at Sols Energy or another solar company. The partnership was expanded to include the volunteer -Outreach program in 2023.