Over 100 climbers join trek to bring supplies to remote Crocker Range school

Over 100 climbers stepped forward to help schoolteacher, Harry Yanto Bikal, carry much-needed supplies to remote Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Longkogungan in the Crocker Range over the weekend after he requested help via social media and WhatsApp.

In an expedition headed by him and co-managed by Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) tourism student, Siscariell Maikol, the cohort of climbers transported everything from cooking equipment to computers, and bags of cement to bedding, which were donated by Junior Chamber International Kota Kinabalu and Mercy Malaysia.

The 10km journey across treacherous terrain – including rivers, a log bridge and steep slopes – ended on Sunday (July 26) with school headmaster, Sunny Yong Ken Vun, expressing his deep appreciation to the climbers for their help in making sure the items reached their destination safely.

In the beginning, Harry – who made headlines in March for carrying a 40kg fridge on his back to the school – wondered how he would pull off the feat.

Then an idea suddenly came to him to ask his hiking friends to help and this led to calling for help using social media and receiving overwhelming response.

“All the volunteers gathered at Batu 32, Jalan Penampang-Tambunan, or better known as Gunung Emas, before the charity climb and jungle trek started,” he told reporters who also joined the mission.

Siscariell said he was inspired to make it a success after he watched a video of 39-year-old Harry determinedly carrying the fridge on his back, a feat that saw him receiving the Guru Adiwira award from the Sabah Education Department during a state-level Teacher’s Day celebration recently.

“We did it willingly and without being forced,” he said of the journey which would ordinarily take six hours on foot.

SK Longkogungan, located in the interiors of Sabah and about 70km from Penampang, is served by seven teachers and attended by 11 students.

-- BERNAMA