Johor floods: Heirloom boat helps girl get to school

BATU PAHAT, Jan 30 (Bernama) -- When floods hit Kampung Parit Warijo here, and the road leading to her house was inundated about one metre high, Nur Akifa Naila Ewan Najib, 10, was worried that she would have to skip school for days.

However, she was able to get to class thanks to a boat that her father, Ewan Najib Sukarno, 46, inherited from his grandmother.

Speaking to Bernama, Ewan Najib said he initially suggested that his youngest child stay home while waiting for the floodwater to recede. Still, Nur Akifa Naila insisted on going to school as she didn’t want to miss her lessons.

“Of course, floodwater that is one metre high or up to the thigh level is not that dangerous for adults, but for children, it still has its risks.

“That is why I used this heirloom boat to send my daughter to primary school in the morning and religious school in the afternoon,” he said.

Elaborating, Ewan Najib said his family had to endure floodwaters for about 750 metres to get to the main road that was not flooded, where he parked his motorcycle and car in the area.

He added that the distance between his daughter’s schools and their house is around one to 1.5 kilometres.

“Fortunately, there is this boat left by grandmother. The flood was quite deep compared to the previous one because before, we could use the motorcycle for wading through the flood.

“I am also quite impressed with my daughter’s enthusiasm to go to school despite having to endure floodwaters using a boat,” he said.

Meanwhile, Nur Akifa Naila said she doesn’t want to miss school lessons, especially when the examination for her religious school is coming up in a few days.

-- BERNAMA