Juliana (right) and Jazebelle share a common passion.
KOTA KINABALU: Two friends and also former flight attendants continued to develop their passions after they called it a day from the hectic schedules of working in the skies.
And they continued to do what they do best, serving the people but on a different notch as they have now become the bridge between the relevant authorities and the people at large.
Like their duties in the skies of ensuring passengers’ safety and comfort, both Juliana Jimis and Jezabelle Loraine Lansing who were both the co-founders of the Putatan Updates (PU), an online community Facebook group, could not bear to see their surrounding areas facing problems unattended.
Thus, this had prompted them to set up the PU to serve as a conduit to share and convey any latest information as well as to bring communities around Putatan area together.
“We discuss issues or topics that need urgent attention by the authority for the benefits of the Putatan people,” said Juliana.
They found out the best way to let their voices heard are through the social media and the Facebook is the perfect platform which led them to open an account on May 29, 2019.
And in a short span of less than two years, they have now grown with 25 networks across Sabah such as in Penampang, Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan and Tawau, among others.
“Most members are also free to discuss common interest such as gardening, hiking, fishing, cooking and others.
“PU now has 25,000 members and throughout the year the admin has held communal work (gotong royong) in bringing together members of the community to clean up beaches.
“It also hosts an online ‘Harvest Festival’ for children with the aim of promoting knowledge about Kadazan culture and language and many more,” she said.
She noted that the group members grew swiftly during the nationwide lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic beginning in March 2020, coupled with the occurrence of various natural disasters such as major floods, fires and so on.
The PU admins took the initiative to carry out food aid and other support to people in Putatan and Penampang districts who were severely affected by the pandemic and other calamities such as floods and house fires, she said.
And the engagement in doing voluntarily community and charitable works has led Juliana and Jezabelle to form the Persatuan Gerak Amal Sabah (PERGASA), a non-governmental organisation focuses on organising and running community welfare and well-being programmes.
Juliana was appointed as the secretary-general of PERGASA and assisted by Jezabelle.
“We are blessed that some kind-hearted individuals supported us by giving us some food bags to deliver to the needy,” said Juliana who is also a member of the international association called the Dialogue, Empathic Engagement & Peacebuilding (DEEP) Network since last year.
And the community work that they both involved in fits in well with DEEP’s aims of promoting diversity and intercultural understanding and helping the less fortunate community.
“Since most members participated in sharing their opinions it has turned PU into an excellent place to pour their thoughts out and promotes healthy communication and community building.
“Without doubt some members may have encountered communication barrier but they are still being looked after and we also gave kudos to individuals or authority for doing a good job,” Juliana said.
Jazebelle added: “Our networks in connecting the people have reached as far as Perth and Melbourne in Australia as we have Sabahans migrated there and they are also curious to get the updates on the happenings in their hometown.”
All the posts on the PU’s Facebook are thoroughly vetted by the admins before they are allowed to go public because we want to create a responsible and caring community, she said.
“We will also update our members from time to time on the comments section to keep them abreast with the latest information announced by the relevant authorities rather than just chatting on personal matters,” Jazebelle said.
In short, she said PU ultimate aim is to build a betterment between the communities and the relevant authorities in looking after the people’s welfare and well-being as well as addressing the shortcomings of the basic amenities and infrastructures in the respective districts across Sabah.
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