DONATE HERE: pozible.com/penan
My name is Blake Paul Kendall, and last year I had the honor of spending time in the Jungles of Borneo with Penan communities. The Penan are the indigenous people of the jungles in Borneo and one of the last nomadic groups in the world. Right now, the Penan face the loss of their language and culture from outside threats such as the Logging and Palm Oil Industries and the assimilation policies of the government.
All schooling for the Penan is in Malay and English leaving little room for the next generation to continue to learn language.
This inspired me and with members from the community we work shopped and wrote a children's book, that I went onto illustrate. This will be one of the first educational resources in language for these people. It’s the story of 5 children as they are led on a journey by their grandparents, and embark on the ritual of making sago, a staple of the Penan diet.
Today is the age of endangered cultures.
With every two weeks a language spoken no more. And in a language, is a whole understanding of the world, with its own values and meanings. This book is one small step in allowing for the Penan language and culture to be taught to the next generation.
Up till now I have funded this project myself, in both the fieldwork in Borneo and the illustrations in Australia. Now I want to take it back to its home as a printed book that can be given to every Penan child in Borneo.
This campaign will fund the costs to print a copy for every Penan child as well as cover the costs for myself and trusted Penan elders to travel around the jungle and hand deliver a copy to every child.
pozi.be/penan