May 1, 2011 will always be a special day for Andrea Chin See. That was the day she joined team CVC. With excitement in her eyes and purpose in her heart, she embarked on a new journey. “It was very exciting; being a part of something meaningful and being able to be more involved in an area that I had worked in for many years, as a volunteer, made me feel fulfilled,” she said.
Joining the CVC team during the early days gave Andrea a front row seat to the organisation’s development over the years. “CVC started from scratch with not much in terms of office equipment and furnishing and in fact was furnished mainly with items brought from homes and donations. The organisation has grown so much during the eleven years I’ve been here. We’ve become a major link in the regional and global HIV response, serving so many of our key population groups, it’s almost unbelievable. We’ve been able to bring together numerous players in the response under the CVC umbrella,” she added with obvious pride in her voice.
A decade is a long time to stay in any one job, so what has kept Andrea Chin See at CVC so long? “I absolutely love the work CVC does”, she says without hesitating. “Being involved in the response makes me feel as if I’m fulfilling my service call. My passion to contribute in any way, however small, to eliminate bias, stigma and discrimination, has made me remain. A dear friend of mine made his transition because of AIDS complications and I committed to serve in his memory. To see CVC grow to become the premier umbrella organization bringing together numerous players in the HIV field, has kept me here,” she added.
Looking back at her service at CVC, Mrs. Chin See is pleased with how far the organisation has come and is looking forward to continuing her contribution. “My sense of serving in the community and the HIV response and just being a part of the CVC team has had a positive impact on my life. Being in the heart of the response and being involved in and contributing to its overall direction and development in a meaningful way, has been fulfilling,” she added with a contented smile.
Not that she would want to imagine a life which didn’t include working at CVC, but if she didn’t dedicate the last 11 years of her life to the organisation, what would she be doing? “I’m not sure. But you know I’m very active in my church, so what I can tell you is that in my next life I want to come back as a priest,” she said with a healthy laugh.
