A Personal Reflection

[Ng Hui Xin]

I don't believe that youths want to live in apathy and ignorance, perhaps they were not given enough opportunities to explore and discover the paths they could have taken. 

 

As a youth initiated project, we face so many difficulties. For instance, we lack in expertise and experience to execute a community project. We have to establish connections by ourselves, and often we doubt whether are we capable to make it happen? Or worst, sometimes problems may arise within the organization itself, eg. lack of enthusiasm from the volunteers. 

 

From this community project, I think I have really grown a lot as a person, understanding my community better and seeing things from another perspective. But I have a lot of doubts too, what can we really acheive? Is there an impact we can make? How far can we go? Are we going to die off because the inability to sustain?

I will be graduating this year and passing the activities to the new batch of volunteers. Are they going to be committed?

 

I don't know what lies ahead in the future, but I will do my best now.

 

There isn't any youth activities on HIV/AIDS on Malaysia. My country failed to achieved the Millennium Development Goals for HIV/AIDS, Back then in 2006/2007 the gov initiated a program for youths. It still exists now, but its activities almost had nothing to do with HIV. Youths still don't really know what HIV is. and even less about Sexually Reproductive Health. Neither did I knew what was syphilis before I did this project!

Being conservative and preserving Asian values is not a bad thing. I am proud to be a Asian! But a conservative society is less accepting to see that their young ones are being taught sexual education. 

 

Some will blame the goverment that they are delaying the programs, but I felt that youths should take the lead.

We should step up and address issues that are happening around us. We can always initiate and take the responsibility and not burden our government too. 

 

I look forward to more support for youth projects in the future addressing HIV/AIDS issues!

[wiwin winarni]

Dear Hui Xin;

 

Nice to know you. Realizing that you're from Malaysia, this encourages me to share more about what have we done in Indonesia dealing with youths and sustainability of project from youths.

 

Yes I do agree with you that we need fully support youths of being informed about essential skill of RH and HIV-AIDS. We work hand in hand, government, civil society, campus, service provider,  school, media and other to ensure that we have always had champion among youths to program sustainability. This also challenge among us to ensure that youths take primary role of making themselves empowered.  .

I also agree with you that we need to educate ourselves that knowing more about reproductive health related issues including HIV-AIDS are not taboo for us as Asians :).  That's is why we need harder working than our counterpart in Europe, North America etc doing pro-longed community education towards this issues.

 

Best Regards

 

Wiwin

[YERUVA ANTHONY REDDY]

Dear Hui xin,

Your voice represents the youth of Malaysia and Asia. Great thoughts about the need for the youth to know more about sexuality, STIs and HIV/AIDS. This would help them to be more responsible and accoundable. The only way more and more youth can be aware is through volunteers like you. We cannot expect the government to reach out to everyone a you said rightly. Share the community life competence competence process to more and more youth to promote volunteerism, the power of volunteerism will definetely sustain longer than the short term projects that are shrinking day by day.

anthony

[Ng Hui Xin]

Thank You Joma for the encouragement!

 

I hope to learn from you and your organization too. Here we could share best practices and exchange ideas. 

Keep in touch.

 

[Joma]

Hi Xin

Wonderful that you have been doing great with the youth, I understand about the background that you have wrote about Asian and conservative way. I really appreciate about the firm commitment you have to pull the youth together. It really does make sense, here in India the North Eastern part we have been working with youth for decades as you know youths are the key people where things Start Stuck and Solve things.

We have our own capacity and when we go beyond that capacity there is a problem sprung up, even though how less the capacity is that could make change and difference in the life of others and ourselves, this pulls us to move on. Don't worry you have lots of potential, I can see that in you.

Joma