HAPI Pride visits Gabay Sa Pulang Laso

By Angie Driskell
HAPI Junior Ambassador

Although Pride Month is over, the spirit of activism and awareness continues. In a follow-up to the Twitter Spaces event spearheaded by HAPI Pride’s Van Catayong on June 23rd and 24thof this year, the HAPI Pride team visited the beneficiary of their fundraiser, Gabay sa Pulang Laso, Inc.

Gabay sa Pulang Laso, Inc. (GPLI) is a non-profit, community-based organization that aims to achieve comprehensive and sustainable psychosocial support among people living with HIV (PLHIV) in the Philippines. As important as biomedical needs are for these housemates, the organization also recognizes that these individuals need to be nurtured and healed in other aspects. They also help the housemates to ease their way back into the workforce so they can better support themselves financially.

We discovered that they have found different ways to generate income to support the daily needs of the shelter and the housemates. They have a store where neighbors can buy snacks, sodas, rice, and ice. They started this in 2020 during the Covid-19 lockdown to sustain themselves. They collected bottles and cans that were tossed on the road in front of the shelter to be recycled, which in turn generated income and led to a cleaner neighborhood. They have their own vegetable garden to minimize the cost of buying from the market. It is an understatement to say that the volunteers and housemates are resourceful and are doing their best to run a sustainable household.

During this visit, HAPI Pride was represented by its Ambassador, Steven Cross, and team members Van Catayong and Garry Rabang. They were joined by HAPI Junior Ambassador, Angie Driskell, and HAPI volunteers, DJ, AJ, and EJ. Also joining them for this visit were members of Dear Grey Collective, partners of the successful Twitter Spaces event last June.

Everyone was given a tour of the shelter before sharing lunch and getting to know each other beyond the online profiles. After lunch, there was a discussion about what GSPLI needs in order to help the housemates to find work once they are ready to do so. The goal seems quite simple but is actually challenging. There is a likely chance that some companies may discriminate against PLHIV, or they may not know all the legalities of hiring a person with PLHIV. Although the expenses of the shelter are indeed something that needs constant funding, the real obstacle is trying to acquire more funding for person-centered care programs. The goal is to increase the number of people who have stopped treatment and to help others understand that the process is not strictly about medication, but about helping PLHIV cope with what they are going through by acknowledging their emotional and psychological needs.

GPLI will be celebrating its 5th anniversary on August 21st. This will be the day they open the doors to their women’s shelter. This means there will be a need for more support to help maintain a safe space for all the housemates.

Before leaving, the housemates and volunteers received ingredients and equipment to make homemade puto (steamed cake made with rice flour) to be sold in their store. These items were provided by Rabang’s Bakery. Steven Cross brought clothes for housemates who may need them. They also received grocery items and flu medicine from the HAPI volunteers.