First Day in KL

I arrived in Kuala Lumpur (KL) yesterday about 4 pm. After 22 hours of traveling, I was mighty glad to see a pillow! :) My host promptly took me to an open market in his central village to admire the fruit, veggies, and a wonderful drink called "Cat-eye soup" (apparently its not cat eyes at all - its a fruit! :) ) I will be living 5 blocks from a mosque, which promptly woke me up at 5:35 this morning to a call to prayer. Don't get me wrong - it was beautiful, but 5:30 am? Really?

My first impression of the city is in awe at the diversity it boasts. In discussion with a supervisor from Tenaganita today, it is much like cities in the US - a flavor from any part of the world. They, too, call Malaysia a melting pot. At first step off the train from the airport you can see why. The diversity of religion, ethnicities, and surrounding cultures is awe inspiring, and a bit confusing. Each people group have their "inside" way of greeting. Indian, Malaysian, and then Muslim Indian and Thai - etc. I should be well-versed in SE Asian countries after my stay!

I got a briefing this morning on my work. Although not many details were given, I will be working on the following projects:

1. ATIP (Anti-Trafficking in Persons)
Tenaganita, as a globally recognized organization for ATIP has many resources that need to be pulled together in a format that is accessible from presentations and fund development. The Malaysian government established the Anti-Trafficking of Persons Act in 2007. It is a 40 page document. I will be working in producing a simplified, condensed document that sums of the ATIP Act. Tenaganita will be able to use this in many of its outside documents, as well as provide it as a resource for the migrant and trafficked population it works with.

2. HIV/AIDS
Working with the populations that Tenaganita does, the organization runs into education difficulties. I will be writing simplified resources to hand out and a manual to train business leaders in this area. This will be a project a few weeks down the road - so more will come! :)

3. Business Social Responsibilities
As Malaysia develops, "Special Economic Zones", where international businesses are allowed to come into Malaysia with minimal regulations, including worker rights, taxes, environmental regulations, etc... Because these Multi-National corporations deal directly with migrants, Tenaganita has recently included trainings for business leaders in the area of Social Responsibility. When Texas Instrument came to Malaysia, for instance, they hired many women because it involved small, electronic assembly. The by-product though, was many women because of the culture were highly underpaid and were not advocated for. They were refused from the Unions because only men held union membership, leaving them vulnerable to unfair labor and business practices. This program seeks to educated business leaders in the laws of Malaysia, and prove retention of a qualified labor force when equal pay is given and rights distributed.

I know this is just the tip of it, and more will come - but I can see justice and Tenaganita go hand in hand. I will be sending a brief of the organization soon, but wanted to jot out my first day's information.