Friday

HIV-home visit

Yesterday we made a visit to the HIV-houses in the north of Kuala Lumpur. These houses are supported by MAC and Standard Chartered Bank. There are three different houses. One for women, one for children and one for transsexuals.

The visit made a big impression on every Red Agent. The first person stories were very emotional and the positive way of living these people at acquired was very inspiring. One of the women living in the transsexual house, was particularly ambitious to tell fellow Malaysians about HIV and fighting the stigma.

All of us agreed that this would probably be one of the best ways to make young Malaysians aware of the growing threat of HIV.

What was also very nice to see, was how happy the children in the HIV-house were. They had lots of education material and toys available. The house looked very neat and clean, and the staff looked very caring and lovely.

It's very nice to see that these people have a place to call home, where they are safe and cared for. We wish the inhabitants of the HIV-homes all the best and lots positive living!

Workshop at Assunta Hospital - 27th of July 2009

Last monday another workshop in Assunta Hospital was scheduled. Again we had the honour to tell around 25 nurses about the causes and dangers of HIV/AIDS, and of course the preventions that can be taken. We were friendly welcomed and around 10a.m. the workshop started. For some of the Red Agents that conducted the workshops - Mattias, Aiza, Mimi and I- it was the first time to educate others about HIV/AIDS so we were really excited! The workshop went smoothly and we really enjoyed it. We hope that all the nurses had the same feeling about it and that we shared with them something to remember. We also learned a lot from them!


Unfortunately, after the workshop had succesfully ended, our hospital adventure was not yet over, since Mattias was not feeling well and had to be examined by a doctor. He turned out to be dehydrated and pretty ill, so it was necessary for him to stay some nights over in the hospital, surrounded by the lovely nurses;) We hope Mattias gets well soon and 'enjoys' his stay in the hospital!

Check out the slideshow below!

Monday

26 July - Last day in Singapore





Today was already our last day in Singapore and we made plans to go out quickly. Ameen took a bus back to Malaysia in the morning. Mariette decided to join our other intern Daphne to visit China town, where they visited a beautiful, three floor, Chinese temple. Estee was planning of taking us, Kanika and I, to have a nice bicycle ride along the east coast of Singapore.

After a short train ride we arrived at the beach. The beach turned out to be a big recreational area where lots of Singaporeans do sports and spend leisure time. We took a look at the water skiing cable ride and the guys doing nice stunts on the ramps and waves. After a short walked we arrived at the bicycle rental shop and we hired three bikes. Fortunately all three of us were good bikers and we had a nice ride along the coast.

Halfway we made a nice pit stop and took some pictures of the giant ships waiting to be docked. The view on the skyscrapers from the beach was very pretty.

After an hour or so, we returned the bicycles and made our way back to Estee's house. After arriving we packed our luggage, thanked Estee's family for housing us and left. Estee joined us to the airport and after a very sad goodbye we hurried to the gate. At the gate we were reunited with Daphne and Mariette and boarded the plane.

After 45 minutes we arrived in KL and we took a cab back to the intern house. Our Singapore journey had ended. It was a very nice experience, because of all the nice places we visited and of course most of all because of Estee's presence.

Workshop at KLMU - 25 July 2009

At Saturday we (Hao Tien, Katka, Jeesoo and Amna) conducted our second workshop at KLMU and again the audience proved to be one of the best. Everyone was very enthusiastic and participative.

Many many thanks to our lovely crowd!

As always, check out the slideshow of the workshop below....

Singapore 25 July










The day started as holidays should start, late in the morning, after a nice long sleep. As Estee had a birthday party today, she couldn't guide us through Singapore, so we went exploring on our own.

We started roaming around malls in the beginning of the afternoon and had a nice lunch at the local food court. Apart from being even colder than Malaysian malls, the Singapore malls are almost the same. After a short while we grew bored in the mall and decided to watch Estee's dance practice.

The dance rehearsal took place in a park and we went there by train. The type of dance was Lindy hop and the specific practice was about lifts, which made it quite entertaining to see. During the "show" a funny looking Indian guy, reeking heavily of alcohol and sipping a Bavaria beer, joined us and started hitting on Kanika. Kanika though didn't seem to like the male company and quickly exused herself.

After the practice was over we (Kanika, Mariette, Ameen and I) went to the famous Singapore "Night Safari" and Estee went to the party. The nightsafari is located in the heart of Singapore and consists of a huge area of beautiful rainforest.

While being in the safari park, we visited the animal show and made a 45 minute trip by tram. The show was a compilation of a few big predators showing of from the stage and some small nocturnal animals doing tricks with their instructors.

The tramride took us through the biggest part of the park in about 45 minutes. We saw lions, elephants, tigers and a lot of the other animals that live in the Himalayas, India and equatorial Africa. The night safari was especially beautiful because the exhibits looked very natural without big fences and moats.

After the night safari, we went back to Estee's house and watched a movie together. Then it was time to end another magnificent day in beautiful Singapore. Tomorrow would be our last day already and we quickly went to sleep.

Elco

Sunday

Best day of my internship :)




Today I woke up with excitement and curiousity as Estee had planned a surprise for me! I tried my best to guess what it was with the little hints she gave me but it was all a failure. These days in Singapore, I always wake up with a huge smile on my face as it's been 8 weeks away from the comfort of home. Every morning getting up at her place is like a paradise for me as there is a nice bed (which I have been longing for quite long!) and her family is very welcoming and nice. Estee if you are reading this, Thanks for all the hospitality and pleasure :).

Estee and Elco went to the airport to fetch Mariette while the lazy bone (I) was still asleep. After having a nice breakfast at home we set our day and went Downtown.
To reach there we had to take a train. I was surprised to see the accuracy and the development in Singapore. The trainstations show the accurate time for the journey from one place to another! Sometimes I wonder whether Singapore is an Asian country!

We reached the Orchid road which was a posh area with all the sky scrappers all around! It seemed like a really busy street and no less than the New York Times Square (Just seen it in movies!) We were surprised to discover that there are 800 shopping malls in Singapore! But to our bad luck the sales session is not going on.

After that, we went to Little India as suggested by Mariette and to my luck, I got decent Indian food! It was nearly as good as Estee's surprise (I was eating chapati after 8 weeks). After having a stroll around town we went to the Bugis street. It was like an open market with really cheap stuff for sale!

By the evening I was about to burst out of curiousity for my surprise but then Estee planned to take us to the Singapore Flyer which was like a dream! We were practically on top of the world as they told us we were 165m above sealevel and we could see Indonesia and Malaysia too! After the nice view it was finally time for my surprise. It was embarrassing and confusing when we walked into a 6 star hotel, The Fullerton, in our flipflops and the guys wearing shorts! We all had glitter in our eyes when we saw all kinds of chocolates, chocolate puddings and cakes, the fountain! We all ate like we had never eaten before and I couldn't help but smile because of the amazing treat and thought.

We ended the day by walking down the Boat Quak with a beautiful view and breeze from the riverside. As I walked down, I recollected all my memories from my last visit to Singapore with my family.

This is how my best day of my internship came to an end! And thanks Estee for the cherishable memory. Love you....

-x- Kanika



Friday

Singapore 23 July




Woohoo, yesterday evening we, Kanika and I, took a plane to Singapore to visit Estee. Ameen one of the other interns was also in Singapore and together with Estee, he fetched us from the Changi airport.

After a short busride we arrived at Estee's parents house, somewhere in the Tempines district. We felt home very quickly and the night was spend in a nice and soft bed.

After a good night of sleep and a hot shower we decided to go to Santosa, the manmade island in the northwest part of Singapore. Santosa looks like paradise, it's all very clean, the beach is beautiful and there's plenty of vegetation.

In the waters of Santosa we had a little sumo competition. Kanika and Ameen teamed up and I and Estee formed a team. With the girls on our shoulders Ameen and I charged into eachother and had tons of fun.

After floating around the whole afternoon, we were hungry and took the train back to vivo city. We ate at the mall and hurried back home, because Estee had a nice surprise for us.
At 8:30 we were expected to arrive at the Timbré musicpub. We had some nice drinks and a pizza and listened to the livemusic till late. When the show ended, we took a cab back to Tempines and everyone fell asleep quickly.
Tomorrow is another wonderful day in Singapore. Meri and Mariette, the other interns, will join us and we will have even more fun. Estee also said she will have a nice surprise for Kanika, but you'll read about that tomorrow......


Red Agent Elco



Tuesday

Country Presentations

Starting from last friday we have a new tradition. Every week on friday, we'll have country presentations by one of the interns about their own country and culture. This is a nice way for the other inters to get to know more about the different countries involved in the project.

Last friday it was up to Kanika, Shreysi, Beverly and Wenda to present their countries. This because Beverly left on saturday and Shreysi and Wenda will leave tomorrow.

First it was up to Beverly to tell us about the country were the Honkies come from. She covered a fast amount of topics, from Jackie Chan to the fragrance of fish (which explains the name Honk Kong :P).

Kanika and Shreysi told us all about India and its beautiful festivals and even performed a few typical Indian Dances.

Finally it was up to Wenda to present the wonderful island of Mauritsius. She told us all about the colonial history, the beautiful nature and the growing economy of the island. Wenda also performed a real African dance wearing a traditional Mauritian skirt.

So the country presentations were a big succes! Next week it's up to Korea and Holland to show all its tradition and hidden secrets.



Monday

Workshop at Assunta Hospital - 20th of July 2009

Today we (Shreysi, Wenda, Daphne, Amna, Aiza & I) conducted a workshop for the lovely nurses of Assunta Hospital. Our audience stretched from future nurses till veteran nurses and all were great participants. We managed to share with the already knowledgeable nurses some things about HIV/AIDS, but they also enlightened us about their experiences with HIV patients in the hospital and their opinions concerning various statements. Next week we will have another workshop at Assunta Hospital and we are already looking forward to it!





Check out the pictures of the workshop below....


Thursday

Workshop at Nilai University College - 15 July 2009

Today we facilitated a splendid workshop at Nilai University College. Our new interns visited and facilitated their first workshop and did very good.

The lovely staff of Nilai fetched us from the trainstation and brought us to the school. Thank you so much!

After we arrived, we were informed that there would be another 100 students who would like to jjoin the workshop at the same time, but in a different venue. So this situation called for the new interns to facilitate also and they did splendidly. We divided into two groups. One group was formed by Red Agents: Shreysi, Mariette, Hao Tian, Mattias and Katrina, who were responsible for the secondary school students. The second group were Red Agents: Beverly, Wenda, Mimi and Jeesoo, who were responsible for the nursing college students.

Both the workshops were very pleasant to conduct. The crowd was very participative and enjoyed the workshop. After the session we made some group pictures and were taken to their food court for a nice lunch.

Thank you all so much!!!!


Wednesday

Thailand trip!

While the other interns (Kanika, Andreas, Estee, Elco) were in Bali, we went to Amazing Thailand.


Well, the trip started with a long bus journey to the LCCT airport. Before boarding the plane we were of course checked for any dangerous instruments in our luggage and the airport authorities took all of Beverley's and Wenda's cosmetics, because they exceeded the maximum amount of fluids you can take onboard. So they didn't have a very fortunate start of their holiday.

After a short while in the plane, we arrived in Bangkok. After leaving the airport we realised we had forgotten to write down the address of the hotel we were suppose to go to. Luckily Wenda's phone had access to internet and eventually we found out about the hotel's address. After taking a pink colour Toyoto Corolla taxi to Pattaya, we arrived at our hotel.

After checking into the hotel, we went out for a nice dinner, walked around the street, checked out the beach, and then came back to our nice room with air-conditioning and television.
The next day, we got up early and had a very nice breakfast. We went out to the beach for water sports and some relaxation. After relaxing I wanted to have a thrill and decided to go jet ski-ing for half an hour and it was totally awesome!

Beverley and I got our henna tattoos done and after relaxing and enjoying on the beach we went back to the hotel and then went out shopping. In the evening, we went for a Transexual Cabaret Show. Pattaya is famous for hosting these shows in various theatres. The show is full with dazzling talented artists and entertainers who will deliver funny performances including comedic impersonations and dramatic numbers. It was a family show, so no naked or other offending sights. The show was very nice although Beverly got very jealous looking at how clean and beautiful the skin of the transexuals was.

The next day, after our usual nice breakfast that we were getting used to very quickly, we went out to do some adventure sports. What I meant was.... bungee-jumping from a height of 60 metres. The others didn't want to join me, so it was just me. When I was finally standing on a platform high in the air, I didn't dare to jump. I said to the instructor, you'll just have to push me. And then without a warning he pushed me of the platform. It was very cool, but I was super scary and I screamed loud at the top of my voice!

After that, we went aroud Pattaya for more sight-seeing, food tasting, shopping, and had a wonderful dinner. We also watched a Thai cultural show.
On our last day, which was the 29th June, we took a ferry to Kolen island from Pattaya. It was a beautiful island with super clean beaches and the water was clear like in a clean swimming pool. It was soooo adorable to see Beverley swim like a cute little duckling with her sunglasses on in the sea.

After that we all 3 went for a very painful/relaxing Thai massage. At the massage parlour, we were actually asked to quiet down as all three of us were laughing and giggling, because the massage was so painful and akward. They didn't want us to disturbe the other customers.
All good things come to an end and so did our fun-filled and amazing trip to Thailand. On 30th of June, we took a cab to the airport and after finishing the left over money we had at the Thai airport, we said bye bye to Thailand and head to Penang for another great trip:)

Love,

Shreysi

Intern's trip to Bali!


Finally, the day arrived where we (Andreas, Kanika and myself) went to Bali to have some sunny days at the beach. Just before we left, Estee decided to extend her stay in Malaysia and to join us. So we hurried to the airport, because we had not bought her ticket yet.

When we arrived at the airport, the queue at the sales office was sooooo long, that we thought we would never be able to buy a ticket in time. But with her puppy eyes and the brightest of all smile, Estee managed to convince a young lady in front of the line to let her pass :D

So we hurried to the departure hall after buying the ticket just to discovere that the flight was delayed. All the rush for nothing -_-"

One hour later, the plane finally took off for Bali and after merely three hours later we arrived at the local airport. We took a cab to Kuta Beach, the main tourist spot in Bali and after a quick stroll we found two available rooms at a nice hotel.

After a night of sleep at the hotel, we decided that the hotel wasn’t that nice after all so we set out to find a better place to call "home". After walking an hour through Kuta, searching for available rooms, we found that the nicest/cheapest hotel was just beside our old place!

So, we took one big room in the Secret Garden Inn. The room had four beds in a row, a fridge, air-conditioning and a nice bathroom.

After settling down in our new room, we went to a surf school along the beach in Kuta, to book some lessons for the next day. Having done that, we went to the beach to check out the sea and play in the waves.
In the evening, we went to a nice restaurant and had a nice western-styled dinner.

The next day, we were picked up at noon from our hotel and were brought to the surfschool for the surfing lesson. We were given our surfing gear and went to the beach for some enlightenment on the theory and basic surfing movements. After mastering the basics, we set out for the "real thing" and plunged into the sea!

What looked easy at first turned out to be quite tricky. Balancing on the fake surfboard on the beach was much easier than in the water. Especially getting up from the lying position into stance without falling was very hard.

All three of us managed into stance on the board occasionally, but the consistency wasn’t really there. This because of the strong waves who made us loose our balance. At the end of the day, Andreas, who had been dying to surf since the day he arrived in Southeast Asia, decided to take the 5-day surfing course while Estee, Kanika and I chose to do some sightseeing the next day.

Because the surfing was quite tiring we went to the hotel's swimmingpool afterwards to just float around and enjoy the afternoon sun. Actually we made this a routine and visited the pool everyday.

Of course we ended the day again with a nice meal in a very fancy restaurant. We enjoyed our pasta and during dinner Andreas discovered that the restaurant had an adjacent hotel next to it. Andreas went there to get some information about available rooms, but came back with a rather sad face. The rooms were expensive, even for Europeans ;).

The next morning, we were picked up by a van from the travelling agency who took us to the watersports center, were we did some parasailing, jet skiing and snorkeling.

In the afternoon, a chauffeur took us to Tanah Lot and Uluwatu. Tanah Lot is a beautiful Hindu temple in the sea (see picture) and Uluwatu provides a beautiful view of the coast and sea. At Uluwatu, we also watched the indigenous people perform a fire dance.

After our day trip ended, we went back to Kuta Beach to hooked up with Andreas for a very nice meal at the Havana Club, a Cuban-styled restaurant. We filled our stomachs with a huge meat covered skewer. The skewer was so big, that it had to be shared with two people. So me and Estee teamed up and so did Andreas and Kanika. The latter of the two had big difficulty finishing the plate, while me and Estee were screaming for more ;)


The next morning, was bye-bye day. We went to the airport early for our flight back to KL because a new adventure was about to start: Penang!

Sunday

Looking for new Red Agents!

Would YOU like to work on a project that brings a positive impact in the society?
Would YOU like to work with a diverse team of international volunteers?
Would YOU like to build up your project and people management skills?
Would YOU like to build up your leadership capacity?

If you answer yes to the above, then this opportunity might be for you because...

The Red Team is searching for new Red Agents!!!

(open to UKM students in Bangi campus only, sorry!)


Benefits

  • Be an HIV/AIDS champion and educate others about it.
  • A priceless experience working with a diverse team of international students
  • An opportunity to train your leadership, project, and people management skills
  • Free training on HIV/AIDS


We are opening up 8 positions in the team which are:
Finance and Administration Director (1 position)
Finance and Administration Executive (1 position)
External Relations Executive (1 position )
Information Management Executive (1 position )


Download the two forms here and here.

For more info, please email : Pei Ling at peiling417@gmail.com

Friday

Workshop at SMK Bandar Baru Salak Tinggi - 27 June 2009

On 27th June,

  • Ben
  • Wei Lin
  • U-Jean and
  • Meri
...invaded SMK Bandar Baru Salak Tinggi!

Created with flickr slideshow.

Wednesday

Workshop at SMK (P) St. George - 1 July 2009

Today was the first time we did a workshop in Penang and we are please to announce that SMK (P) St. George is our first Penang school we invaded!!!


There were approximately 300 students Form 4 and Lower Six who attended the workshop. The students were separated to three locations (Dewan Perdana, Dewan Bestari, Dewan Makan Asrama) where three workshops ran concurrently.

8 Red Agents which are:
  • Wenda
  • Beverley
  • Estee
  • Kanika
  • Elco
  • Shreysi
  • Meri
  • U-Jean (ex-Georgian!)
were deployed to the school on a mission to educate more youths about HIV and AIDS.

However, due to some camera error, a lot of pictures were lost :(

Here are what was left


Created with flickr slideshow.

To all Georgians, thank you for being such participative and sporting audience. We love you!

PS: The Red Project blog has reached 1000 members!


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