Today, I finally finished 60% of my broadcasting assignment. Went to PT foundation and it was one of the most eye opening experience I ever had. and kudos to my lecturer, Mr. Luqman Lee and his team (I suppose) for coming up with this theme of AIDS/HIV. It's been what I think, a journey of understanding rather than just a stepping stone to getting good assignment marks. It was a remarkable experience. And to think that we could have missed out on this... But by God's grace, we got what we wanted...
And so the journey to PT began with a RapidKL bus ride to KL Sentral and then a monorail to CHow Kit road.. THen we kinna got lost cos PT was kinna in far away. We finally found the HQ and because we had so many people (18 of us), Dinesh, a volunteer staff here had no choice but to take us for a walk. Chow Kit was a mixture of old and new buildings but I must admit... Something has to be done with the traffics here... THere's so many darn cars and the pedestrian traffic light? rosak la... Typical right? But neways, indeed, the walk was tiring but on the way, I talked a lot with Dinesh. He told us about many stuffs about PT and about the community that is in PT. From his talk, sure enough, I had very much higher expectation. I knew that PT would be different. (When Urban Motion, the production's name for my team found out about PT, we knew we found the right place as there were no place else where the word "understanding" can be so associated with...)
Ok, so fast forward... We arrived at the drop-in center and set up all the necessary cameras and stuff and it's interview time! Got a bit nervous but we did get what we needed... During that interview, what had struck me the most was their take in life... They are, in so many ways so much more positive, so much more living a life than we, the supposedly "normal" humans are.
Interviewer: Jadi... Apakah impian anda buat masa sekarang?
Respondent : Saya... nak satu keluarga lah... Ada tanah ngan rumah dari arwah ayah... Ingin usahakan...
Wow... just wow.... They are... Normal after all... Not all the crap we heard and saw on TV or anywhere else. They are perfectly normal people living a life but perhaps an adjusted life due to their condition... One of the staff and also a victim to this disease said that "To Understand is better than CURE or PREVENTION". It's true... I mean, if we can prevent the disease from infecting others but how about those who are already having it? I think... by understanding, only can we finally rid this world of the disease... PT is one of those doors of understanding to the public. It's a shame that the gov does not really see the power behind this word... With more funding... I for one, will think that PT can impact Malaysia into understanding People Living with HIV.
And today, the inevitable question called my mind again... "If even they can find a life, what about me? What is my life?"
Perhaps.. In time, I would be able to answer it... But thank you PT Foundation! You opened a door to my heart for this community... Keep up the good work!
