Working on files

During this volunteering we spent most of out time doing administrative work.Again I went with company, this time it was just Misbah and I.I can only emphasize again that it is a lot easier if you have someone to go with.The work was a little bit less monotonous and it required a little bit more focus than the packing of condoms.I do not know if I liked that better.I felt like time passed faster but at the same time it was less relaxing.Most of the time we went through old files trying to find reusable ones.To me it felt like that was unefficient since it took a lot more time to go through all the old paper instead of just printing new ones.But then I found out why the MCC does it.They have no other choice since their funds are so limited that they cannot afford to just print new ones.They actually depend on our work and someone who is sorting through the old files in order to find reusable ones.This astonished me that a clinic, a place that is needed and helps people is forced to recylce everything.Their are so many other companies and places that maybe always complain about not having enough money but I feel like this is something else.It also helped me realize how important and vital the volunteers, like Misbah and I are to the functioning of the MCC.And I am sure there are many more volunteers who are a lot more involved than us and these are the people that are so vital to the mission of the place of helping the ones in need.

AIDS prevention

With my soccer season coming to an end I finally was able to create some time spaces in my schedule to volunteer at the MCC.I went together with Misbah and Devin and we made condom packs.As in almost any aspect of life it was a lot easier and more fun to do it in a group.It makes it also a lot easier to actually go volunteer if you do not just do it by yourself.I actually enjoyed the packing because it was such an easy job that required no brainwork at all.It was kind of relaxing after a busy week of school and thanksgiving break just about to start.
One of the things we put into each packet was a little card that read something along the lines of: The only safe sex is with a condom.This caught my attention and I decided to look some stats up about AIDS.According to aids.about.com in december 2006 there were 25993 (19.7 per 100000) cases of HIV in Houston which is the most for any major city in texas.Since I am not really familiar with this topic and did not want to go further into the analysis of this data I thought it would be interesting to compare it to my hometown Munich, Germany.As I was trying to find the HIV data for Munich an assumption that I made was confirmed.It was really hard to find any data and I believe it is because AIDS/HIV is a subject in Germany that people try to avoid.So finally I found some data from the Robert-Koch-Institut which said that the were 9400 cases in all of Bavaria for 2010.Even though I am not sure this data is comparable on a one to one basis since there are different types of AIDS/HIV victims and I am not sure whether these included the same definition.Anyways matter of fact is that the number of people infected seems to be a lot lower in germany than here.One of the reasons I consider valid is the fact that Germany is not quite at America's level when it come to tolerance so that there are many gays in Germany who do not come out or repress their feelings.I can only see this as the reason since both countries are equally well developed in medicine and prevention as well as AIDS awareness.

Volunteer Orientation(finally)

This Monday I was finally able to attend to volunteering orientation. The orientation basically gave me an overview of what is going on in the Montrose Counseling Center. The main functions include life counseling, HIV counseling, anti-violence services, a 24-hour telephone line for gays and lesbians, SPRY senior services, outpatient chemical development treatment, HATCH youth services, GLBT foster care referrals for parents and youth, case management, education, prevention, outreach and employee assistance program. I did not expect the MCC to be involved in so many different programs. From a cell bio perspective the two most interesting services would probably be HIV counseling and chemical dependency treatment. There are many volunteering options but I think I will just come by the office and help with clerical, administrative work in the beginning since that would be the easiest fit into my schedule. I also like the fact that I can be flexible with this kind of volunteering work. At the same time it would probably be a lot more interesting to get a little bit more involved and to get a better view on what is actually going on at the MCC. I will try to do this as time permits. Furthermore there will be special events that require volunteers and maybe I can attend some of those. The main thing I got out of the volunteering orientation was the fact that there are so many different problems people have to face and the MCC approaches so many of them. I mean of course the MCC does not cover the whole spectrum and is mainly focused on serving the GLBT community but it was still somewhat astonishing to realize how, literally, close this entire world of people in need is. The MCC is only a couple blocks away from the private catholic university and yet the people going to either one seem to be living in completely different worlds.