HOPE: 2010

ALERT ALERT!!!

| 23 September 2010

Hey YOUth,

Hope you guys are feeling excited about Red Alert Conference happening this Sunday, 26th September 2010 at 8am at Faculty of Medicine and Health Science.

The delegate's fee is RM18 per person including breakfast and lunch. Since we are also doing this for charity so a part of the fees will be donated to the HIV/AIDS shelters.

It will be a fun-filled event and at the same time getting more exposure to global issues like HIV/AIDS. We have amazing facilitators from Greece, Germany, Hungary, Vietnam and even local facilitators. We also have NGOs like Pink Triangle Foundation and Malaysian AIDS Council participating in this event. In addition, we also have international delegates.

Want to meet new people?

Want to know more about HIV/AIDS?

Want to make an impact?

This is the place for you - RED ALERT CONFERENCE

If you are taking a train, please stop by at KTM Serdang Station. There will be a bus picking you up at 8am. An organizing committee will be there waiting for you. Just look out for a guy who is wearing AIESEC T-shirt.

If you have any problems finding the way, please contact Jien Wai - 017 - 789 4229.

If you are a UPM student, there will be a bus picking you up at KTP bus stop in front of Putra Food Court and also at K12 bus stop. The bus will come at 8am sharp.

For more information, please contact:

Li Wei - 017 - 260 4261

Sin Ying - 016 - 943 3026

See you on Sunday!

Facilitators for the Red Alert Conference 2010!

| 07 September 2010

Ladies and gentleman,

Let's welcome our facilitators..

1) Syi Huey (Malaysia)

2) Diana (Hungary)

3) Ee Von (Malaysia)

4) Melvin Sta Maria (Malaysia)

5) Amy Wang (Malaysia)

6) Dimitris (Greece)

7) Tim (Germany)

8) Alina (Germany)

9) Lai Peng (Malaysia)

10) Sarah (Egypt)

11) Ruth Choy (Malaysia)

12) Shin (Malaysia)

13) Gene-Harn (Malaysia)

14) Lee Shu Zhen (Malaysia)

Coming to you this 26th September!

Sweet goodbye ... or is it see you later?

| 26 August 2010

Dear Fans,

For the last time this is the first batch of the HOPE Project 2010: Tangulu, Pauline, Jessica, Sarah and Dorien. With a tear on our cheeck and a smile on our face we say goodbye to you all. Hopefully it is not goodbye at all, but a 'see you later at some time, some where...'

During the last six weeks...

- We have educated more than 500 students on HIV/AIDS
- We were warmly welcomed in 5 Malaysian Schools and 1 university
- We worked closely together with 2 NGO's
- We have visited 4 shelters for people living with HIV/AIDS

The numbers are nice but actually that is not what counts the most. What will stay with us forever is:

- The warm welcome at the schools and the eagerness and curiosity of the students
- Playing with the really cute and sweet children, enjoying their childhood even though they are HIV+
- The house wife who still feels blessed even though she is HIV+ because at least now she can help other people
- The transgenders who have HIV, but are above all positive and make sure that they smile, laugh and enjoy life every single day
- The drug user who lived on the street but found a way out and is now happily married and helping other people who are in the same situation he was in and opens his house and heart to them
- The doctor who is retired but comes to work in the community shelter every day, helps the patients and makes them feel loved and wanted
- The french family who gave up their known and comfortable environment to use their knowledge for something meaningful
- The patient who helps the other patients to walk again
-...

These are the just a couple of the examples of the situations and people who made this a life changing experience for us.

Thank you to everyone who made this possible:
- The AIESEC'ers at UPM: you are amazing! It was a great pleasure to get to know you all, thank you for everything you guys and girls did and for making it an unforgetable summer for us. We loved your spirit and your friendship, lah ;)
- To the 2nd batch: It was great to get to know you all! We are sure you guys and girls will rock!
- To all the schools we visited and students we had a chance to meet: You made it possible for us to make a difference! Thank you! We can only hope you will all have a wonderful and healthy life! We wish you nothing but the best!
- To everyone at the Pink Triangle Foundation and at M.A.C.: thank you for giving us a chance to get to know you, it was an absolute honor! Thank you for opening our eyes and minds!
- To all the people we met at the shelters: you are the ultimate example of positive thinking and living. You were, are and will always continue to be our inspiration.
- To everyone that does something, big or small to stop this virus and that support people living with HIV/AIDS: there are not enough words for what you do. We have nothing but love and respect for you!

To all the fans out there we want to share the most important lesson we learned: 'Be grateful for the life you have and reach a hand out to someone... it makes a world of difference!'

With lots of love!
See you and have a wonderful life!

Jessica, Pauline, Tangulu, Sarah and Dorien

Red Alert Conference is here

| 21 August 2010

Hey You!

Yes. You!

You are invited to attend Red Alert Conference.

Excited?

Below are the details for Red Alert Conference:

Date: 26th September 2010

Venue: Faculty of Medicine and Health Science,

University Putra Malaysia

Time: 8.00am till 6.oopm

Fee: RM18 (inclusive lunch)

Red Alert Conference is a one-day conference aimed at raising awareness on HIV/AIDS issue among youths, with an emphasis on fighting discrimination and stigmatization.

To register, please fill in the form HERE.

For more information, email us at hope.aiesec@gmail.com.

Red Alert Conference

| 20 August 2010

Hey guys,

Red Alert Conference is coming soon.

Stay tuned for more updates.

The Wind of Change

| 19 August 2010

Dear Fans of HOPE,

it is time for change in the HOPE project at UPM, and this is what it looks like. For the first time, this is the second batch of interns - Alkistis (Greece), Ahmed (Egypt), Dimitris (Greece), Leke (UK), Rawan (Egypt), Sarah (Egypt) and Tim (Germany) - sharing their experiences with you.

In our first week of the project our focus lay on getting the knowledge about HIV/AIDS and about facilitating workshops. For this, we were lucky enough to have a two-day training session with our project partners at the Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia along with interns and AIESECers from all over the country.

The Train-the-Trainers Conference was centered around the question of how to convey important messages on the issue of HIV/AIDS to different audiences. There was time for students new to the subject to pose their questions and for experienced members to share their knowledge and stories.

We thank everyone who participated, and a special thank you to the facilitators of the Standard Chartered Bank and AIESEC, and the organizing committee from the Universiti Malaya for their effort and dedication.

Highlight at the end of the week on Sunday was a visit together with the CrusAIDSers from IMU (International Medical University) to Rumah Jaireh, a home for children with HIV. It was simply heart-warming to interact with the kids aged three to ten. After a short overview of the home's history by the children's mother Dr. Lucy Campos, and an introduction round to get to know everyone we spend three hours playing and laughing with the children. Their energy and spirit was very inspiring and the visit to Rumah Jaireh was a very good start into the next round of HOPE.

Thank you again to the CrusAIDSers for letting us participate in this visit.

Next up in the coming week, we will be conducting our first workshops at UPM on Monday and Tuesday, and be visiting WELCOME Community Home on Monday morning and the Malaysian AIDS Council on Tuesday Morning. On Thursday we will be having a Global Village on the campus to show people more of our home countries, with another workshop for the Junior Members of AIESEC UPM.

It's going to be awesome!

So stay tuned for more and see you soon!

Alkistis, Ahmed, Dimitris, Leke, Rawan, Sarah and Tim

You inspire us!

| 12 August 2010

Dear Fans,

It is a pleasure to share our experiences with you and we can only hope that through the messages and words we post, we can transmit at least a little bit the lessons and incredible insights we gain from working on the HOPE project.

On tuesday, 10th of August, we were very warmly welcomed in 'Rumah Solehah', a shelter for Moslim women and children. We were touched by the hospitaly which included a very nice lunch prepared by the women living in the house, a beautiful performance by the children and some very nice bracelets. Everytime we visit a shelter we are amazed by the openess and warmth of the residents. Despite their challenging situations and painful past they still share their stories in a brave and direct way. They look for ways to make life better for themselves and even more for the people around them. It is an honor for us to spend time with them, to share a lunch, give a hug and most of all to learn from them. We want to thank everyone and especially also the matron to give us an unforgetable experience. An experience that makes us more open, more aware and teaches us to appreciate everything we have even more.

We also had the pleasure to share this experience and our knowledge on HIV/AIDS with the students at the International Medical University (IMU) yesterday. We really enjoyed giving this workshop and answering the clever questions the students asked. We really enjoyed your cooperation, insights and views. Thank you all!

And yet another exciting event is coming up: the train-the-trainers conference on HIV/AIDS by Standard Chartered Bank in Kuala Lumpur which we are attending on friday and saturday. We will tell you all about in our next message.

We are enjoying all our experiences as much as possible, since a couple of us are going home soon... :(.... On the other hand, new trainees for the project have arrived, again from different parts of the world: Greece, Germany, UK & Egypt. They will shortly introduce themselves to you extensively.

See, hear, read you soon!
Jessica, Sarah, Pauline, Tangulu & Dorien

HOPE Team July - August 2010

| 05 August 2010

Hi Fans,

Here we are again after a great collaboration with the Pink Triangle Foundation (PTF).

We had the pleasure to volunteer at their Carnivale last Saturday which was a very nice event. We met lots of great and brave people: PTF staff and volunteers, the people from the neighbourhood Chow Kit and nice visitors. It gave us a great feeling to be able to contribute and it was another 'mind opening' experience. Meeting sex workers, trans-genders and drug users, having conversations with them and learning that they are people like you and I. Sometimes they had a choice and sometimes they didn't, they all are human and deserve a good life.

We realized that once more when we talked to a couple of the PTF staff and volunteers yesterday. We learned that most of the women that are infected with HIV/AIDS are innocent house wives. Another story was that of a drug user who lived on the street and was offered a second chance to a good life by an NGO. He now dedicates his life to help people that are in the same situation as he was by opening his house and heart.

These experiences and stories are extremely unique for us and allow us to make the project more impactful and to have more understanding for each and every person no matter what they do or what situation they are in.

We conclude with a very big thank you to everyone at PTF for enriching our experience!
See you soon!

Tangulu, Pauline, Sarah, Jessica, Alki & Dorien

PS: For the alert readers ;), you will notice that there is one more name: Alki.
Alki from Greece has joined the Hope Team!
A very big welcome! Selamat Datang Alki!
You will see her picture soon!

New experiences and encounters

| 29 July 2010

Hi Fans,

Long time no see... so here we are again with an update. After a relaxing weekend we have had a week filled with visits to NGO's and some workshops.

On tuesday, 27th of July we visited the PT Foundation who are organizing an event this saturday where we will volunteer with other HOPE interns from UM and other NGO's and volunteers. We are really looking forward to it and will update you in detail =)!

Yesterday we had a very touching and inspiring visit to Rumah Wake I, II and III. Rumah Wake provides support and a home for women, transsexuals and children infected with HIV/AIDS. This time we didn't just talk about HIV/AIDS but experienced what the virus can do in real life. We were touched by the openness and optimism of the residents. Despite the hurt, both physically and mentally, they still find the courage to make the best of life and to stay positive no matter what. This was really inspiring for us and we believe we can learn from their strength and optimism. Thank you so much to the staff and residents to open their house and heart for us and to teach us this incredibly valuable lesson!

We used that inspiration today while giving two workshops at SMKA Maahad Hamidiah to another 100 students. Yet again we were amazed by the warm welcome and enthusiasm of the
staff and students. These guys and girls were very active, alert and really understood the key points we delivered.

It is becoming more and more clear to us that the HOPE project isn't just a volunteering project but an incredible gift and life experience for all of us =)!
Thank you to everyone who made this happen!!!

We"ll be back soon with fresh news =)!

Tangulu, Jessica, Sarah, Pauline & Dorien
HOPE Team July - August 2010

SMK Seksyen 3 Bandar Kinrara

| 20 July 2010

Hi Fans,
Here we are again =).

Yet another day of the HOPE Project AIESEC UPM and yet another very nice workshop! Today we had the pleasure to visit the school SMK Seksyen 3 Bandar Kinrara.

We met some really great students there who were very motivated to learn more about HIV/AIDS and were very active during our workshop! Have a look at the video at the end of this post, to experience just how active they were =)!
Thank you all very much!

We must say that we couldn't have imagined a better start of the Hope Project. In three days we have visited 3 schools, have delivered 4 workshops and ................. (drum roll) ...........................

.......have educated 300 students on HV/AIDS!!!

We left each school with a feeling of gratefulness and intense joy!
Thank you to all the staff members and students we have met to make the start of our project a big success!

Next on the agenda:
- more workshops in schools
- contacting and visiting NGO's who can support the HOPE Project.

We will ofcourse keep you updated on our adventures!

All the best!

The Hope Team July - August 2010
Pauline, Jessica, Sarah, Tangulu & Dorien

SMK Puchong Perdana

Hi Fans,

We are writing this message with a big smile on our faces =) because we had two amazing and heartfelt workshops today at SMK Puchong Perdana! The students were really eager to learn and both them and the staff gave us a very nice welcome.

The boys and girls in workshop 1

In total there were 102 students present today. We really had a great time giving them more information on HIV/AIDS and want to thank them for being so open and active. It was a pleasure to be with them.

The girls and boys in workshop 2

Thanks again to the staff and the student for a great day! Find more pictures on our facebook group: HOPE AIESEC!

We are really looking forward to our 4th workshop tomorrow at SMK Seksyen 3, Bandar Kinrara.

All the best from the Hope team July-August 2010
Tangulu, Sarah, Pauline, Jessica and Dorien

| 19 July 2010

HOPE 2010 has started !!!

Dear fans,

It is a pleasure to announce that HOPE 2010 has officially started!

About a good week ago 5 grazy girls arrived from different parts of the world to contribute to the HOPE project and to make HOPE 2010 a success!

Let us introduce ourselves:

From the left to the right:

Jessica from Hong Kong

Dorien from Belgium

Sarah from Marocco

Pauline from China

Tangulu from Kyrgyzstan

Today we delivered our first workshop in the school SMK Puchong Utama. It was a great pleasure and honor for us. We would like to thank the students for the warm welcome they gave us and for their enthusiasm and eagerness to learn. We couldn't have imagined a better start =D.

During our workshops we give students more information on:

- What is HIV/AIDS?

- How can you get HIV/AIDS?

- What can you do to protect yourself?

- How can we live with AIDS? From the perspective of people infected with HIV and from the perspective of society.

With this workshops we hope to make a difference, raise awareness and limit the number of people that are infected by HIV/AIDS.

We are very motivated and are really looking forward to the next three workshops which are planned this week =D! We will keep you posted! Watch this space ...

Last but not least we want to send a big THANK YOU to the AIESEC UPM team!

The HOPE Team July - August 2010

Tangulu, Pauline, Jessica, Sarah & Dorien

PS: Check us out on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000083813875&ref=ts