Ramadan is coming in a few days time. I’m already getting cash contributions for me to buy Raya goodies for the poor. That means I need to start shopping for necessities to be distributed to my poor clients.
While I had earlier mentioned that I was not sure if I’d be able to do my usual Ramadan house visits this year, chances are I may still be able to do so. My mother’s condition has improved a whole lot and my sister will be around on weekends so I may be doing my house visits on Sundays without having to worry about my mother.
I hope to be able to bring along a few “babies” (the new volunteers who are still under probation) to come along with me. The visits are important as part of their training and heck, I may need the extra manpower to help carry the stuff in and out of my car!
This year alone we managed to rope in 4 new volunteers, 2 males and 2 females. One of them actually started off as our client (he’s a PLWHA) and based on our assessment, we asked him if he’d like to become a volunteer and he agreed. That makes him only the 2nd PLWHA to have joined the Buddies.
The PLWHAs who joined as volunteers are both financially stable. The way I see it, none of my own clients can become volunteers – they have enough problems of their own. Well yes, Jah may be the happy-go-lucky type and can really make others laugh; but she’s not working and is dependent on others to travel anywhere. How to do voluntary work like that?
Ah well, at least having 2 of them as volunteers is a good enough start. We do intend to set up a peer support group in the near future so hopefully these 2 will one day lead the way…
While I had earlier mentioned that I was not sure if I’d be able to do my usual Ramadan house visits this year, chances are I may still be able to do so. My mother’s condition has improved a whole lot and my sister will be around on weekends so I may be doing my house visits on Sundays without having to worry about my mother.
I hope to be able to bring along a few “babies” (the new volunteers who are still under probation) to come along with me. The visits are important as part of their training and heck, I may need the extra manpower to help carry the stuff in and out of my car!
This year alone we managed to rope in 4 new volunteers, 2 males and 2 females. One of them actually started off as our client (he’s a PLWHA) and based on our assessment, we asked him if he’d like to become a volunteer and he agreed. That makes him only the 2nd PLWHA to have joined the Buddies.
The PLWHAs who joined as volunteers are both financially stable. The way I see it, none of my own clients can become volunteers – they have enough problems of their own. Well yes, Jah may be the happy-go-lucky type and can really make others laugh; but she’s not working and is dependent on others to travel anywhere. How to do voluntary work like that?
Ah well, at least having 2 of them as volunteers is a good enough start. We do intend to set up a peer support group in the near future so hopefully these 2 will one day lead the way…
5 comments:
from my understanding, instead of sitting around feeling sorry and dependant on others, that PLWHA guy has actually moved forward...betul ke? if thats the case, he's a good example for many PLHWA to emulate.
Takde kena mengena dgn post tapi nak ucapkan Selamat Menyambut Ramadhan! ;)
pi bani, selamat berpuasa dan semoga terus dengan kerja-kerja yang mulia ini.
Kerp,
Yes, these guys have really moved forward. But we must also remember that these 2 are more educated people. The more problematic PLWHAs are usually the less educated ones.
Farina,
Selamat Menyambut Ramadan to you too. Cooking anything special? :)
Kak Teh,
Thanks. Selamat berpuasa to you too. Jangan liat bangun sahur, ok? :)
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