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…
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.
ReplyDeleteTakde kena mengena dgn post tapi nak ucapkan Selamat Menyambut Ramadhan! ;)
ReplyDeletepi bani, selamat berpuasa dan semoga terus dengan kerja-kerja yang mulia ini.
ReplyDeleteKerp,
ReplyDeleteYes, 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,
ReplyDeleteSelamat Menyambut Ramadan to you too. Cooking anything special? :)
Kak Teh,
Thanks. Selamat berpuasa to you too. Jangan liat bangun sahur, ok? :)