THEY WILL ASK thee as to what they should spend on others. Say: "Whatever of your wealth you spend shall [first] be for your parents, and for the near of kin, and the orphans, and the needy, and the wayfarer; and whatever good you do, verily, God has full knowledge thereof." - Al-Baqarah (2:215)
Malaysia Flag Pictures, Images and Photos

Thursday 17 June 2010

Busy month ahead...

WHOOOOSH!! Almost half the year is gone. Waaa… so fast?

So what activities had we (Buddies) done for the first half of the year other than the usual clinic duties, outreach, taking care of the affected children’s educational needs and visiting/calling our HIV clients?

In March I gave a talk to a group of students from ITP, Ipoh. During the same week, we also put up an exhibition booth at Kinta City, Ipoh in conjunction with the International Women’s Day 2010 organised by the Perak Women for Women.

We put up another exhibition booth in May during a conference organised by the Perak Palliative Care Society. During the same weekend, I and 4 other volunteers also took part in a Charity Relay Run held at Ipoh Padang, where each of us had to run 2km.

Also in May, although Buddies were not directly involved, I was invited by virtue of representing Buddies as an NGO, to be in the committee to work together with a few other NGOs under the Sekretariat Pembangunan Wanita & Sosial Negeri, organising awareness campaigns on women and social issues. Our first event was a seminar on domestic violence. More campaigns will be organised, although the next event under this committee has yet to be decided.

So, what’s coming up in July?

I have been invited to give a talk at a university college in Negri Sembilan during a seminar on HIV/AIDS. I have given talks on HIV before, but this time it will be different. The talks that I had been giving so far were more on HIV in general – how it spreads etc. I’d usually just use the slides/powerpoint presentation already prepared by the Malaysian Aids Council (MAC). This time, the organisers have invited reps from the Institute of Medical Research to cover the medical aspects and reps from MAC will be showing their slides on HIV in general. I on the other hand, have been invited to share my experiences in dealing with the HIV infected/affected people. No prepared slides, so I’m in the process of preparing one. I want the audience to look at something else other than just my boring old face during the talk… :-)

The next day, I promised to have a Masters student from American University in Washington DC follow me for a day while I go round doing my voluntary work. She’s in KL for 2 months this summer, and as an independent study for her Uni on the impact of HIV/AIDS on Muslim women, she wants to do as much research as possible while she’s here in Malaysia.

The first Sunday of August, as usual, will be our Family Day (we will have to choose another date in future if the first Sunday of August coincides with fasting month). We have not made the final decision as to the venue of this year’s Family Day although we have shortlisted 3 places. We will have to decide by this month’s Board meeting as by July we will need to make all the necessary arrangements. Chances are in July the Family Day sub-committee will be meeting every week to make sure everything is in order.

We are also planning to start our support service during HIV clinic at Taiping Hospital beginning July. I’ve already got a few volunteers willing to take turns to go there, so we might as well start something soon.

So yeah, July will probably be quite a busy month for me. Never mind, one step at a time. I don’t want to stress myself out, do I? But not to worry, if I do get stressed, I’ve got the Stress Reduction Kit ready…


14 comments:

Naz in Norway said...

Oh! you got one too? I'm using mine right now!

Pi Bani said...

I haven't used mine yet Naz. It may come in handy one day though... not to bang my head, but the head of whoever irritates me to no end... hehehe...

Wan Sharif said...

Salam Pi,
Will Petronas, by any chance, lose one of its staff when you use the Stress Reduction Kit?

mamasita said...

Pi..you never get stressed lah..lah challenging lagi power you!Pass me the SRK! Berabuk jer dengan you!

Yati Harvey said...

Err Pi, tolong jangan guna stress kit tu....nanti dapat belon atas kepala...

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Aunty Pi,
After you bang your head, I'll give you massage OK? Mine is different from Angelina's as I'm a male....har har har *evil thoughts*

Anonymous said...

salam.

sister, im azizul and i have been following ur blog.i really want to be a volunteer, well, if u dun mind, do u know where i can sign up?

if only im eligible to apply, is there any requirement? im 19 and undergraduate from iium.

azizul_zzl@yahoo.com. here is my email, and hopefully you can answer my question. thanks.

Pi Bani said...

Wan Sharif,
Huh? What has Petronas got to do with this?

Mamasita,
Which SRK do you need? Stress Reduction Kit, Sekolah Rendah Kebangsaan, or Shah Rukh Khan? Hehehe...

Pi Bani said...

K.Intan,
Dapat belon atas kepala boleh buat hot air balloon...

CiS,
Who says I'm gonna bang MY head? Please read my answer to Aunty Naz. Besides, the instructions on the kit says, "Bang Head Here". Didn't say whose head, did it? ;)

Pi Bani said...

Azizul,
Will email you separately.

Tommy Yewfigure said...

Ouch, I nearly broke my monitor….hahaha.

So Pi, so what do u give yourself & the team on your half yearly appraisals? "More room for improvements"…kekeke..itu remark bolih kira biasa kan.

Another thing, I notice u people from prestigious college normally put yourself first e.g. u wrote;

I and 4 other volunteers also took part in a Charity Relay Run held at Ipoh Padang, where each of us had to run 2km.

Shouldn’t it be; Our 4 other volunteers & I?...kakaka

Cheers,
Tommy

P/S – Beware of that yankee, maybe CIA agent ;)

Pi Bani said...

Tommy,
I ran first so I put myself first lah! If got to put head on chopping board, then I put my name last! ;)

Anyway, we don't do appraisals. We just find excuses to celebrate... anniversary lunch lah... year end dinner lah...

mekyam said...

salam pi! just stopping by to say hi.

Pi Bani said...

HI MEKYAM!!! Tak singgah minum kopi dulu?