Fri, 2010-11-19 15:22 — admin

A teenager's expression of his concern for the environment was rewarded when he received the prize of a Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3 netbook and a backpack for his essay on protecting the Belum Temengor Forest.

Vincent Kong Tze Kiong of SMK Arang Road in Kuching Sarawak beat more than 50 other contestants nationwide in the Saving Belum-Temengor Forest microsite contest, which was part of the i-Challenge 2010 competition organised by the INTI Education Group.

"Teach them the importance of the forest; expose the current condition of the Belum-Temengor Forest to the public; and tell them their role to protect the forest and what we can do to save it," wrote Kong in an effort to convince others to support the conservation effort.

Kong, who aspires to become an architect, received his prizes from Dr. William Wong, chief executive and principal of INTI College Sarawak. Kong and his team-mates had participated in INTI's i-Challenge competition in July this year. Although they did not make it to the final round of the competition, the recent win by Kong in the microsite contest was a huge consolation. 

Relating his experience leading to i-Challenge, Kong said: "For our team to qualify for the competition, everyone in our school pitched in to collect at least a ton of scrap paper, which was then sold to an appointed contractor for recycling. The proceeds were then donated to the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) to fund their conservation efforts."

Sponsored by The Body Shop and organised in partnership with MNS, i-Challenge 2010 aimed at promoting and instilling social responsibility among students, and to provide an opportunity for them to contribute to the betterment of society and more specifically, the environment. It also served as a platform for them to learn effectively by thinking and acting creatively.

Since its inception in 2005, the annual i-Challenge competition has attracted hundreds of student participants and awarded more than RM500,000 in scholarships and prizes. The microsite contest was introduced for the first time this year.