Photo from: LoveYourself White House Facebook page
CEBU CITY, Philippines— Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is one of the most misunderstood viruses in the world.
Because of this, a lot are uncomfortable to have themselves checked.
But one clinic in Cebu is slowly breaking that stigma by giving free and confidential HIV screening.
LoveYourself White House, which opened its doors last April 2019, gives individuals a chance to get tested and feel comfortable in knowing the real deal behind HIV.
Read: LoveYourself brings ‘safe space’ to Cebu
Maurice Villaester, public relations officer of LoveYourself White House, tells CDN Digital that aside from the free screening, they also educate people on how to treat people with HIV.
Villaester shared some reasons on why one should visit the LoveYourself White House:
Free
If you get tested in hospitals or in other institutions, HIV screening and testing will cost you. In LoveYourself, they do it for free and with full confidentiality.
Education
They will not just tell you the results, but will also answer your questions about HIV or other sexually transmitted infection (STI)-related cases.
Safe and homey
The ambiance will take away the anxiety in you. The place is filled with books and coffee that will keep you busy while waiting for your turn to be consulted. This helps ease the anxiety in you and will give that sense of feeling that you are safe.
Early detection
HIV is not the end of the world for someone who will be tested reactive, but rather a start of a new chapter in their lives. A chapter that is not that far from the normal ones. The earlier you get tested may it be reactive or non-reactive it is the best reward you can give yourself.
Eye-opener
LoveYourself is not just a center for HIV but it opens your eyes to the reality of HIV and STI related cases. It gives you the feeling that you, too, can help others by becoming a volunteer in their white house.
Help spread the advocacy
Once you visit LoveYourself, you, too, can be the bearer of the light of knowledge to others and the bridge to let others know about this advocacy of theirs. You can help them get the message across to a lot of people.
Loveyourself is a non-profit organization that offers a wide range of STI and HIV-related services for free.
Now, Cebu, let us move together with Loveyourself as they advocate HIV prevention and education. /bmjo
Read: 134 people got HIV in July thru transactional sex