GiveYourGap got to sit down with the coordinator of the Positive Living Programme, a center for people living with HIV.

The PT Foundation is an organization dedicated to helping prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and enhancing the lives of those living with the disease. They offer free and confidential HIV/AIDS testing along have different programs that help address the needs of the five at-risk groups: those living with HIV, drug-users, sex-workers, transgenders, and MSMs. We were lucky enough to be able to visit their offices, where they offer counseling and support groups for MSM individuals, and the Sex Worker resource center.

The PT Foundation organized a campaign of international celebrities to bring awareness to the needs of the AIDS-affected community.

As soon as we entered in to the PT Foundation offices, located in a low-income area of Kuala Lumpur, we were immediately welcomed and could feel the supportive environment of the office. They have a small but hard-working staff that comes from all walks of life. All of them offer their individual skills to help the foundation. Their offices are filled with inspirational posters, pamphlets and resources offering advice, and comfortable counseling rooms. Besides the staff there were a number of volunteers, both local and international, who give their time to keep the programs running.

A short distance away from the office centers is the Sex Worker resource center. Here they run a drop-in center offering many programs to help sex workers in the area. The center serves as a safe shelter for these women to stay away from the streets during the day. They also provide them with condoms, sexual health education, HIV/AIDS prevention training and resources. The shelter also provides a safe place for the children of these workers. While the PT Foundation does not promote sex work, they understand that ignoring the needs of the workers will not make it stop… it will merely become more and more unsafe for the women working. In addition to providing a safe environment and health tips, the program also offers support to women wishing to leave sex work and be trained to enter another profession. They also work hard to reduce the stigma that sex workers face so that they might be treated better by society.

The PT Foundation gave us a tour of the safe shelter they provide for sex-workers.

The women we met at the center were all strong and hard-working; a diverse group of mothers and transgender people all benefiting from the resources PT was offering. Those who were active sex workers were able to get off the street during the day to enjoy some rest and clean conditions. Others had transitioned into working for the center instead of on the streets. Both employees and clients benefited immensely from the center.

Volunteers played a big part in helping out in most of the centers. At the office there is always extra work that the volunteers can help with, especially if they come in with ideas about what skills they can contribute. In the other programs they can have more time working with people helping out in the centers. We met a wide range of volunteers coming from many different backgrounds and countries. All of them were passionate and inspired by the work both they and the PT Foundation were doing.

A volunteer at the Positive Living Programme arranging handouts.

We left the PT Foundation feeling excited about the work they were doing and hopeful for the future of the communities they served. Our time in Malaysia was much more enjoyable knowing there were people out there as dedicated and driven as those of the PT Foundation.

To see more, check out our Gapper Video Profile with PT volunteer Asma.

Name:

Megan and a friend on a trip to Nablus, Palestine

Tell us about the organization you work for and what you do for them.
I work for Kayan-Feminist Organization, which is a non-profit, politically unaffiliated Arab women’s organization in Israel. I volunteered with Kayan in 2009, and worked primarily on public relations and outreach. After I began working on my Master’s degree in Conflict Resolution, I teamed up with Kayan again to work on developing a program that empowers women to do peacebuilding work within Arab communities in Israel. In addition to helping to develop this program, I work on fundraising and development. An average day is usually spent at the office editing grant proposals and reports, or meeting with colleagues to talk about the upcoming Conflict Transformation training that we are planning.

Share a favorite memory.
One thing that has stuck out to me in my second time with Kayan was when I went to a meeting of the Forum of Arab Women Leaders, which is a network of community organizers that Kayan supports and facilitates. This was my first time out “in the field” since I’d come back, and it was really touching to see familiar faces, some of whom even remembered me. It was as if I was being transported back two years, except that the Forum has grown and is becoming increasingly sophisticated in its research and interventions.

What have you learned from your experience? How has it affected your long-term goals?
Well, obviously I’ve learned more than I’d ever imagined about issues of women and conflict transformation, fundraising, and development. More generally, however, I’ve learned that it takes a very long time as a volunteer to actually contribute in a meaningful way – unless you are with an organization for a significant amount of time, the gift is primarily theirs to give, not yours. This idea that Americans can descend upon international organizations and improve them is largely unfounded, and I think it’s important to remain humble in the work that we do. As far as my long-term goals, they have totally shifted since I came back to Kayan this summer. When I arrived, I wanted to work for international women’s organizations in conflict zones. After getting more involved in the community-level work that Kayan does, I realized that I actually want to give back in that way to my own community in the Pacific Northwest. The grassroots work that this staff does is immensely powerful, and I feel convicted to work to improve the quality of life for disadvantaged members of my community in America.

What is the most challenging part of your job?
The most challenging part of my job has been keeping up with all the various aspects that go into program planning: donors, grant proposals, logical frameworks, activity planning, target group, etc. Having never done this before, I have had to learn quickly what it takes to orchestrate programming in an organization like Kayan.

Do you have any advice for prospective gappers?
I would suggest that gappers learn as much as they can about the context they will be working in, remain humble and openminded, and connect as much as they can with the people that they are working with.