Various updates

We had our Board meeting last night. It was the first meeting for the year so there were quite a few things to discuss. Amongst others were setting the date for our coming AGM in March & setting the deadline for submission of reports by the various coordinators to be included in our annual report.

So yep, it’s report writing time again! Me? Just like last year, other than the Chair’s report, I will also have to write up the report for our Children Education Fund and Education Sponsorship for Children program. And oh, since most (if not all) photos of activities were taken using my camera, I’d have to prepare the photos of activities as well. Paperwork is the part I dislike most, especially since I have enough paperwork to be done at my office. I prefer doing groundwork like house visits & all. But having said that, when a report has to be done, I don’t like it if it’s done cincai-cincai either, especially since the reports will be given to various people/organisations, especially donors.

Meanwhile remember Azimah (the unwed mother) and Halimah (the pregnant lady) from my clinic duty last week? I had initially postponed assigning a buddy to them. I wanted to discuss during the meeting if there was anybody else amongst the female volunteers who could be assigned as their buddies. But in the end, I still ended up as their buddy. However, we also agreed that 3 of my older and not so problematic clients be handed over to other volunteers. So I “gave away” Jah, Murni and Zainab. I can bet you they will still be calling me anyway, but at least I know these ladies don’t mind if other volunteers call them.

Frankly I think we are short not only of female Malay volunteers, we are generally short of female volunteers. Besides, most of the PLHIVs needing our services are the females. Many of the HIV+ males usually would just say they’re doing okay and don’t need a buddy. Even the ones agreeing to be assigned buddies, would usually just opt to contacts by phone calls only. It is especially obvious during our annual Family Day, majority attending the event would be the female PLHIVs and their children.

But guess what? We’re organising a gathering for the male PLHIVs this coming Sunday. We were supposed to have one for the females in the afternoon, and one for the males at night. Ended up we’re calling off the gathering for the females but will go on with the gathering for male PLHIVs. Frankly for the females, those who’d come would probably be MY clients and the few I asked either need to work or have other matters to attend to this coming Sunday. Besides, most of my clients already know each other and already have each other’s contact numbers. But they still seldom contact each other because they all claim “credit habis”.

I do hope the gathering for the male PLHIVs will be a good start to get the male PLHIVs to form a peer support group.

I will not membusykan body at the male PLHIV gathering so I have made other plans for the weekend. This Saturday insyaAllah I will be doing the second round of this month’s McPi McDelivery – this time to Sofie’s house. I’m purposely visiting on a Saturday this time because Ika, Sofie’s daughter, has complained that I always visit on a weekday afternoon when she’s at school. Tak aci, she says, that her brothers all get to meet me and she can’t. So okay, once in a while I visit on a weekend when she’s home.

Before that I may need to shop for a bicycle first. Rosnah’s daughter needs a bicycle to go to school. I hope to deliver the bicycle on Sunday. So yep, probably tomorrow I’d shop for a bicycle and keep it at our centre. Then Saturday, after my pasar tani routine, off to the minimarket to get the supply of groceries for Sofie’s family and straight away deliver to Sofie. Then Sunday, get the bicycle from the centre and deliver to Rosnah.

Confirm lah my car jadi delivery van this weekend!