Sabah-based NGO Borneo Komrad, through its Sekolah Alternatif initiative, has launched a campaign to raise RM15,000 to ensure that children will be able to safely make their way to the floating school from the mainland.

“We’ve found a villager who can do the work, and we know the materials we will need, so we have a good idea of where the money will go,” said Shakila Adiela Wan Azmi, manager of Sekolah Alternatif.

“Work will begin as soon as we can hit our goal, and will only take about a week to finish,” she told FMT.

The wooden walkway propped above the sea is now rundown and poses a potential safety hazard to young children who will have to use it to get to the new school.

“It’s typically been used by the people who live in the area, and they have not been able to afford its proper upkeep. If something breaks, they generally go and collect some wood from nearby to patch up the bridge. They don’t perform actual repairs,” she said.

Shakila said donations had begun coming in from all parts of Malaysia, and they had hit close to RM5,000 by yesterday morning.

“Any additional money we get will go towards getting the materials and labour to paint the new school,” she said.

Last month, Borneo Komrad was able to collect RM20,000 to convert a house donated by the parents of one of their students into a school. It will provide free education to more than 50 stateless and marginalised children in the Semporna area.

Aged between seven and 17, many of them will already be familiar with Sekolah Alternatif’s work, having attended their old school nearby, which is now being converted into a practical skills’ institute for the underprivileged.

Details on how to donate may be found on the Sekolah Alternatif Facebook page.