HOPE

Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Infant Jesus Convent School 2

| 10 February 2011

On the 22th of January, Hope Project Interns went to Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Infant Jesus Convent School again for our 5th workshop. We had prepared slides in power point and also on cardboard.

We also had prepared games so that the students could actively involve in the learning process. These included the game called high- medium-low- no risk in which we asked two teams of 15 students to participate and decide whether the statements that they were given are no-low-medium or high risk of getting infected from HIV.

It is important to say that during the two teams were playing the game the rest students were also paricipating because the had the statements too... This avtivity was very impactful and interactive because we made clear not only which were the correct answers but also why.

The second activity was the true or false game. In this one the students had to decided whether the statements they were given are true or false. This game gave as the chance to aswer all the question the students had during the whole presentation...

From the one side making an impactful presentation with 200 students is quite impossible. From the other side i think that this workshop was really successful because we already had a satisfactory enough experience and it was easier for us to keep the attention of the students.

Our audience was more than 200 students

Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Infant Jesus Convent School

On the 21 of January the Hope Project Interns went to

Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Infant Jesus Convent School in Melaka.

This is the first time we have our workshop in small group of around 50 students. Still, we didn’t have the ice-breaking game as we found the game “Move-if” not suitable for form 5 students. To me, the beginning is the most important part as if it is well-thought; we can have attention from the audience throughout the presentation. We didn’t manage to have an astounding one, but I suggest that we might put in a short video of “Counting down for 8 seconds” and end it with a statement “In every 8 seconds like what we just counted, one person dies from AIDS.”

Jessica introduced the difference of HIV &AIDS, and illustrated how HIV attacks immune system.Mike told them how it is spread and what’s safe to do with people living HIV. Jessica reminded the students of QQR. Then, it’s my turn to tell them how to prevent HIV and conducted the first activity “High risk and Low Risk Action”. Pedro continued with the blood test and treatment. After that, I passed them the message of anti-discrimination to the AIDS patients and more information of NGOs that deals with AIDS.

Regarding the first activity, we had it in four groups this time and each of us went into the group and discussed with them. I like this arrangement as we interacted more with the students, but the sense of competition among groups would be lessened as they might change the answers after they get hints from us. Generally, the categorization of those actions is a bit controversial, as some actions may fall between two groups, and it’s hard for us to give a clear-cut answer, this might confuse the students and does not give them a clear message.

Concerning the second activity, the response was good as we asked for true or false. But when we asked for the reason like “why do you think using condom is 99% effective?”, it’s hard for them to reply as it is exactly what I have just mentioned in the presentation and there’s no solid reason for that statement. Thus, I think we could skip “why” questions on some all-known facts. Besides, I have found that almost all students are confused with the statement “If I have AIDS, I have to take many drugs for the rest of my life.” This might reflect that we should modify the presentation on treatment part to reinforce this message.

Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Sri Hartmas

On January 18 the Hope Project Interns went to Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Sri Hartmas for our first HIV/AIDS workshop.We had prepared slides in Powerpoint and also on cardboard, with the expectation that around 50 students would be in the audience. Games had been prepared to get every student actively involved in the learning process. These included an ice-breaking game, and some games throughout the presentation to reinforce the message.

We were informed on the evening of 17 January that in fact around 200 students would be present for one workshop. This meant that the workshop would be less interactive than we had hoped. We therefore eliminated the ice-breaking game, since it involved self-introductions and running around by the audience.

Once the microphone was working, things went well for the first 10 minutes of the presentation. However, after this, a large group of late students entered the room. This disrupted the session, and also meant that there were a large number of people now in the audience who had not heard some important messages at the beginning of the presentation. From this point, we had some trouble controlling noise in the room.

For the high-risk/low-risk game, we chose two groups of 10 (one group of boys ad one group of girls) to compete against each other for points at the front of the hall. Involving everyone in the game was impossible given the numbers. This game went alright, as we explained each answer at the end.

In order to involve the entire audience as much as possible in the “true-false”game, we used candies as an incentive to get members of the audience to raise their hands and answer questions. This worked ok, as there were a number of students who were quite enthusiastic. However there were also many students who did not participate. This dynamic however would be common amongst any group of 14 year-olds.

At the end, we rounded off the presentation by getting students to ask any questions they had. There were a number of good questions. We then quickly introduced each of our countries.

The feedback we received from AIESEC LC members who observed the workshop, was that we sometimes talked too fast, or with too much of a strong accent. We decide to take extra care with this issue at the next workshop. Audibility would also have been hindered by the persistent murmuring of students at the back of the hall.

Overall, considering our surprise at having to present for 200 people, the workshop went well, and boosted our confidence for future sessions. Although it was not as interactive as we had hoped, we believe most students learnt at least something about HIV/AIDS by the end of the session.

Volunteering at Pink Triangle Foundation

| 25 January 2011

Hi Fans :

On the 12^th of January, Mike, Olivia, Pedro and I went to Pink Triangle Foundation (PTF) in Kuala Lumpur to help out. PTF is an organization devoted to HIV/AIDS issues in Malaysia. It was founded in 1987, and has grown since then to encompass divisions that assist five populations vulnerable to HIV. These groups are sex workers, drug users, transsexuals, men-who-have –sex-with-men (MSM), and people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA).

We met some friendly employees and volunteers at the headquarters, which also acts as the MSM division. One task sponsored by PTF that is vital to HIV prevention, is the distribution of safe-sex packs. The other interns and I spent most of the day packing condoms, lubricant and information cards about PTF and safe sex. This was quite a relaxing way to spend the day. During this time, we were able to chat to some workers at the organization about the obstacles they face in the fight against the spread of HIV and against HIV related discrimination. One problem due to underfunding is that only bare bones management team can be formed. Further impediments to efficiency include institutionalized homophobia and the general taboo against open sexuality in society. For example, we were told that the presence of condoms (our hand packed safe sex kits!) in gay venues can be used as evidence against a club for hosting “illicit” activities.

Despite these obstacles however, if it weren’t for PTF, countless more lives would have been lost to HIV. Since the evolution of HIV in the 1980s that lead to it becoming a world-wide epidemic, 13,000 people have died of AIDS in Malaysia. The tireless efforts of PTF in providing testing and counseling, as well as distributing information, and of course, condoms, must have saved and prolonged many lives, and also reduced a lot of confusion and suffering.

Mike, Pedro, Olivia and I are grateful to being able to spend our time being involved with PTF, and we hope our visits over the next month can help prevent the spread of HIV and HIV-related discrimination!

The Hope Team , AIESEC UPM ,

January- February 2011

Jessica

First Wave 2011

| 19 January 2011

It is a pleasure to announce that HOPE 2011 has officially started !

First of all , I would like to introduce our
First Batch HOPE Project, AIESEC UPM interns

drum roll..

they are...

Jessica M. Malcolm
Australia

Olivia Ho
Hong Kong

Mihalis Pagalakis (Mike)
Greece

Pedro
Brazil

Our first batch interns arrived from different parts of the world .

Together with hard work and sweat,
they are ready to make HOPE 2011 a SUCCESS!

Are you READY for them?

HOPE 2011

Hey AIESEC !!!

I would like to officially announce

HOPE 2011 is back!!

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!