Project Q - Abandoned Land

COMMUNITY PROBLEM SOLVING PROJECT

Project Q: Abandoned land By students Zurairah Busrah, Muhammad Baharuldin, Redzuan Hj Booty and Zadil Hayat Kassim Problems: Brunei has several recreational parks which are used quite frequently by the public, most of which are quite well maintained. However one particular park has been left to fall into disrepair and is in quite a sorry state. The park is not maintained properly; maintenance checks are not done properly or regularly. The park has a poor drainage system causing some parts of the park to flood, resulting in an ideal breeding ground for mosquitoes. Some parts are used as dumping grounds for rubbish, and some of the park’s facilities are broken or in poor condition. Hence the park was not used by the nearby residents.

Figure 1. The wooden seats are broken and can no longer be used. Grasses are left to grow tall and unkempt bushes are found around the park.

COMMUNITY PROBLEM SOLVING PROJECT

Figure 2. The grasses along the lake are not maintained well and the lake has also become a dumping area and polluting the water

Figure 3. Many parts of the parks are flooded and muddy due to poor drainage system. This stops people from coming into the area as some footpaths are also flooded.

Possible solutions: The condition of the park could be improved in several ways. A cleaning campaign could be organised where the community could be encouraged to work with members of the team to clean up the park and restore it to its former state. People could be encouraged to visit the park and to keep it tidy through the media, such as the radio, tv or newspaper. Actions taken: Members of the team interviewed the director of the housing unit close to the park for which the park was built to find out when the park was built, why it was built and who should be in charge of upkeeping the park’s appearance. A questionnaire was developed and distributed throughout the residential area surrounding the park to find out how often the park was used and whether the residents would be willing to help clean up the park. After analyzing the results from the questionnaire team members decided to go ahead with a cleaning campaign as it was found that most residents were willing to help clean up the park. Leaflets were designed and distributed throughout the residential area to encourage residents to join in the cleaning campaign. Team members also wrote an article which was published in the local newspaper encouraging the public to take care of parks in Brunei.

COMMUNITY PROBLEM SOLVING PROJECT

Figure 4. Working with the community (cleaning campaign).

Figure 5. Newspaper cutting about abandoned recreational area and cleaning campaign that were conducted by UBD students (Published in Media Permata: Thursday 7th November 2002).