Oro HIV advocates meets Miss Universe

• Source:http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cagayan-de-oro/local-news/2016/01/30/oro-hiv-advocates-meets-miss-universe-454659
• Sunday, January 31, 2016

By Riain Alfonso

IT WAS a mere twenty minutes conversation, more or less, but it was worth it.

This is what Grey and Au said after their Manila trip to meet fellow Kagay-anon, Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach.

Both are Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) advocates and were invited by United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) Philippines to the HIV Forum held at the Armed Forces of the Philippines Medical Center (V. Luna General Hospital) last January 27, 2016.

Grounded, beautiful, and simple. This is how both described the reigning Miss Universe.

“Pag-abot niya, paglingkod niya, nawala ang akong kakulba. Mura bitaw dili nimo ma feel na Miss Universe ang imong ka-atubang. Ingon ana siya ka down to earth,” observed Au who said that Pia went out of her way to make them feel comfortable.

“I want to help spread awareness about HIV,” said Au, not her real name.

“Taas man gud ang rate sa discrimination and stigma. Tungod sa discrimination, ang uban people mahadlok na nuon ug pa test, mahadlok sila kung unsay hunahunaon sa lain tao. Mas maayo man gyud na ma-aware ang mga tao about HIV, at least ma-alter ilang negative na perception about the illness.”

The advocacy is very close to her heart as the illness has touched her on a very personal level and she herself experienced the discrimination.

“Hindi na man ako positive pero being involved with people na may HIV, tingin nila sa akin positive din. Maski yung mga anak ko, diniscriminate din.” Au’s husband succumbed to AIDS related complications. Luckily, she and her children are all negative. Her experience with the disease was the reason why she was asked to participate in the forum.

Au and Grey, a person living with HIV or PLHIV, were asked to be a part of the forum just days before the said event.

“At first, I was hesitant because there was going to be media,” said Grey. “Pero eventually na realize nako na there is a purpose ngano ako ang gipili. Naa koy daku na role, for me to inform and bring to her unsa gyud ang naa sa Cagayan de Oro, unsay gakahitabo. It’s a big opportunity, bahalag ingon adto lang ka-mubo ang time, to use my voice kay ingon ana man gyud ang advocacy.”

Grey said the invitation was for young HIV advocates. They were invited by Unicef Philippines to meet Pia and to talk about their stories and advocacies. Grey disclosed that there were five people who were invited to talk to Pia.

Each of them was asked to talk about certain topics related to the cause. Grey was asked to discuss the challenges of HIV advocacy in the local context while Au talked about discrimination and stigma.

The other panelists included Devine from Quezon City who talked about peer education, Nancy who discussed about injecting drug use, sex work, and mother to child transmission, and Jerson See who talked about MSM or men who have sex with men.

Nancy and Jerson are both from Cebu City and were representing Cebu Plus, an NGO that provides HIV and community support. Jerson is its executive director.

“The goal really was for Pia to know na young people gyud ang gaka-involved sa advocacy and para mahibaw-an niya unsa gyud ang current situation sa Philippines when it comes to HIV and AIDS,” said Grey adding, “Dili pa ingon ana ka deep iyang knowledge, dili pa ingon ana ka lawon ang iyang na hibal-an about HIV. She needs to know more pa and she has to kay mao baya iyang platform in winning the crown.”

Grey admits that they were not able to discuss the advocacy in depth because of time constraints with Pia’s visit.

“Siya gyud ang nag request na makigkita para makabalo siya unsa gyud. Makit-an nimo sa iyang interest sa pagpaminaw,” commented Au, who noticed that Pia, because of her schedule, was a bit tired and sleepy.

“Paglingkod niya para mustorya sa amo, siya gyud mismo ang miduol sa amo.”

She described how Pia would lean forward to get closer to the panelists and would reach out her hand to pat a knee and give comfort at times when the stories shared became too intense. She also noted that Pia asked questions whenever she was confused which only showed her innate interest to the advocacy.

Grey also felt Pia’s sincerity and that her willingness to help was genuine, “Makita nimo during the discussion. She’s really listening, makita nimo na naay eye contact. Mafeel nimo.”

hey were especially touched when, after one of Pia’s aides announced that their time with her was already up, Pia dragged her chair closer to them and asked them urgently, “Anong gagawin natin? What can I do? Anong pwede natin gawin?”

They explained to her the importance of educating not only the young people who are the most at risk but to educate everyone because everyone is vulnerable.

Both Grey and Au hope that she becomes the gateway toward educating other celebrities who can also be strong voices of the advocacy. The stress was really on Jerson’s call to action which is for everyone to get tested, “Nga dili ka hugaw kung mag pa test ka, it just means na responsible ka.”

Grey recalled that he almost cried when he heard Pia’s answer during the Miss Universe.

“Coming from someone who’s into pageants, artista, wala ko nag expect na sa tanan, mao iyang pili-on na advocacy. Kabalo gyud baya ta unsa na stigma ang attached sa HIV,” said Grey, who understands the pros and cons about choosing this cause for someone in the pageant industry.

He said that Pia will be able to understand the advocacy more if she gets more personal encounters with PLHIVs and hopes that if and when she visits the city, she will be able to spend time with the local HIV and AIDS advocacy groups.

He added that as Miss Universe and as someone coming from Cagayan de Oro, Pia’s impact in the fight against discrimination and in the promotion of education about HIV and AIDS should be felt greatly in the local scene.