Inspiration

 Today I started working at KAPPCK. I still don’t know what it stands for. Last week I was just supervising them.

I work with 12 kids ranging from the age 7 to 14 in Chow Kit. I really do hate getting off at the station. I was impressed at their enthusiasm. They told me that they all knew how to do basic mathematics. I moved on to negative numbers and basic algebra. I don’t really think they get it because I’m not sure if I am teaching them correctly. I guess we are all learning from each other.

I get them to encourage each other to do their questions and I give each child their own question. They love writing on the board. It’s as though it is a sacred act.

We went on about maths for almost 2 solid hours.

It was awkward. The kids asked why I was Chinese and living in Australia. There is a boy who sits in front of me every time and he questions my every move. He asked, “Does everyone in Australia look like you? I thought you were Chinese. You look Chinese.”

I couldn’t be bothered explaining the details about Australia being multicultural. I guess he was sort of let down when he heard someone from Australia was coming to teach, he must have thought that I would have been typically Caucasian.

The effort that the kids put in their maths with me gives me hope and sometimes I wish the world would give them the opportunities to shine. They love doing questions and they don’t stop asking questions that I can’t answer because I don’t speak Malay.

I want to walk around with a shirt that says “I don’t speak Malay”, instead, I do what every lost tourist does, smile and shake their head when approached.

It doesn’t stop them from nagging me about being late every time.

I should also clarify, I can't take photos of the children that I work with.

I have skipped so many days blogging.

Last week I went to PT foundation and I started my junior admin work there. I do all the menial jobs. They first asked me if I knew what I would be doing and I said, I had a feeling that I would be packing condoms and basic administration jobs.

I hit it spot on. The photocopier doesn’t collate nor does it staple the documents so I spend most of my day sitting on the floor stacking and stapling those forms that you fill in. Machines don’t do it. Its people like me sitting on the floor crossed legged and getting cramps in the most awkward places in the hand.

One of the seniors in the office said that I reminded him of his niece. I don’t know whether to feel complimented or offended. I later found out that his niece is 12.

For those of you that don’t know what PT foundation is, its short hand for Pink Triangle foundation. I don’t give them enough credit as they give me tedious office jobs but what they do is important. They offer free and anonymous HIV screening upstairs. I have been there and I clean it out. They also do an amazing job at distributing condoms around Chow Kit. I’m not sure if I am allowed to blog about this :/

I for one, got rather excited once learning about the various colours and flavours that they come in. I have always mistaken them for candy back in Sydney. At my open day at university, they hand them out and advertise them like candy. I guess I wasn’t far off as they come in strawberry and banana flavour, just to name a few.

Around the office, I got personal with a few HIV positive people. I didn’t realise that they were HIV positive until they told me. One of them took me out to buy my Solero. (What I mean to say is, Please marry me you sexy, sexy solero.)

I sometimes wonder how they manage to stay open because I’m sure they aren’t a government organisation. The funding isn’t strong hence me doing the most tedious jobs of all.

What they do here is incredible. I just wish that the venue was more open to the public as even I found it hard to find.

Where else can you tested for HIV for free and anonymously?

Life doesn’t stop. I caught a 5 hour bus ride to Johor Bharu the next day for a 3 day conference.