Event - HIV: A Volunteer's Journey

Event - HIV: A Volunteer's Journey

27 of March 2010 @ PELANGI PRIDE CENTRE

"HIV: A Volunteer's Journey"

Details at a Glance
Date: 27 March 2010 (Sat)
Time: 4pm
Venue: Pelangi Pride Centre
Cost per person: $6 (cost of 2 soft drinks and finger food)

RSVP: This event is by invitation only.
As there are LIMITED seats, prior registration is required.
To get an invitation - please email [pelangipridecentre at yahoo dot com] with your name (in full), contact number, the name/s of your guests.

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HIV: A Volunteer's Journey

You may know that HIV is now generally considered a chronic disease by the medical establishment. With Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART), having HIV is no longer considered a death sentence. In fact, if you look at the ads for HAART in men's magazines, you would usually see a couple of buffed, good-looking men enjoying life.

Some are saying that these are part of the reason/s more people are not using condoms.

"New infections in Singapore, with a population of 4.6million, rose to 456 in 2008 from 242 in 2003" - Health Ministry statistics.

"The numbers they announced are probably much lower than the numbers they have" - Francoise Barre-Sinoussi, winner of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Medicine for her discovery of the virus that causes AIDS.

"I have seen too many AIDS patients die. Most die alone. There is no warmth, no care for them. They are not ready to die - you see it in their eyes. I told myself I had to do something worthwhile for myself and for the cause - to clear the path for future patients, so they will not die like that." - Paddy Chew (March 29, 1960 to August 2, 1999), the first Singaporean to come out as having HIV/AIDS.

About the Speaker:

Gwo Yinn trained as a Civil Engineer and now works as a Workplace Safety and Health Officer on construction sites. He has been a volunteer in the community since 2005, amongst which are Assisi Hospice, Action for Aids, Oogachaga and Pelangi Pride Centre.

During the session, he will share with you his journey of volunteering in the field of HIV/AIDS. In the process, he hopes that you will gain a new understanding of what a person with HIV has to deal with everyday in terms of acceptance, disclosure, school and work, health and leisure.