while i was away..

while i was away... i attended a HIV/AIDS seminar and candlelight memorial thing at St. Scholastica's College in Manila.

initially wrote this on saturday but i got too lazy to blog:

i attended the 22nd International AIDS Candelight Memorial Turning Remembrance Into Action: Uniting the Nation Through Shared Responsibility which took place at the St. Scholastica College in Manila today. it was only the second day of the three day seminar. at the entrance, my practicum groupmates and i were greeted by a friendly Scholastican who handed us our name tags and a red ribbon in the shape of the AIDS awareness symbol. the first hour, we were seated uncomfortably trying to ignore the heat.

when the speakers came, things started to get interesting. among the interesting people who spoke were Dr. Ditangco (a specialist on HIV/AIDS) and an HIV positive patient from the Positive Action Foundation Philippines Incorporated. he spoke about the first few years of learning that he was positive of HIV and how he maintained his health 15 (yes! believe it!) years after he was first diagnosed. he still looks very healthy now and despite the 15 years of living life with HIV, it hasn't progressednd to AIDS because he receives treatment regularly. he worked in Makati before but after he learned that he was HIV positive, he resigned and devoted his life to being a counsellor and caregiver to his fellow HIV positive patients. he is now with PAFPI and although he's currently tired and worn out at the moment for being active in educating the public with HIV/AIDS, he still tries to to people who need his support.

compared to other HIV/AIDS patients, he is lucky to be surrounded by people who understand him. according to him, he wasn't discriminated by his former boss and his family understood when he told them about his health condition. in fact, he still goes home to Laguna once in a while when he's very tired and his town welcomes him without discrimination.

my groupmates and i were able to ask him for an ambush interview in which he gladly said yes. we chose a shady place with long benches. i could see how positive his outlook in life is because he talked animatedly. he said he already accepted his fate and he has played a big role in the advocacy of HIV/AIDS awareness. in fact, he picks up the medicine for treatment himself at the customs office and tries to fight for the rights of his fellow patients. he already came out to the public via the media and he said he wasn't afraid when he decided to come out because he knew his rights and if people violate it, he knows the proper procedures to take.

it was an interesting afternoon! then the doctor invited our group to join the poster making contest in which i am very sure Mitchie will bag first place! haha! her drawing was awesome and to think that she just rushed her artwork!!!

i thank God because he brought me there. it is through education and thorough understanding of HIV/AIDS and the situation of it that i came to care about the condition of HIV/AIDS not only in the Philippines but around the world as well. i feel for the victims. i feel for the patients who have financial difficulties thus the inability to avail the expensive medication. but through Dr. Dayrit, they were able to get medicine in low prices. however, by the change of administration at the Department of Health, our interviewee fears that these low-priced generic medicine (which comes all the way from India) might sky rocket when they go back to buying medicine from big pharmaceutical companies.

the mini photo gallery of portraits of HIV/AIDS patients around Asia gave me goosebumps. there was one portrait of a family who are all AIDS victims. the father died last year, according to our interviewee.

day two of the seminar starts tomorrow where Dr. Dayrit will be the key speaker. there's also the candle lighting ceremony which will be held at the open field of St. Scholastica.

DAY 2
oh my! Day 2 was hilarious! all of us won something! mitchie won first place for the poster making... i brought home an Ovaltine loot bag! HAHAH! ovalteenies overdose! cha and raymond won t-shirts from Levi's and Ave's name was called too but she went home already. sayang!

there were a lot of rap during the program. no. scratch that. RAP took over the whole program. the Butta Flava Entertainment group took over the stage and i think i can not hear rap music for about 5 years. i had more than my share, thank you.

as long as you're living, you'll never stop learning. agree?

apology: i apologize for using the terms "HIV patients" or "victims". i just read today from an AIDS newsletter that the United Nations Development Program and its AIDS program said that they should be known as "people living with HIV or AIDS" because by saying "patient", it means that they rely on doctors. by "victims"... i forgot what it implies but i'll get back to you on that. :)

look! i messed up my layout because of the large pictures. will fix that later. meanwhile, i'll go to bed now. ta-ta!