As part of its drive to help people become aware of their health status – including HIV status – the La Bella Maricona de Mampang LGBTQIA Organization, a community-based LGBTQIA group in Mampang in Zamboanga City, recently held a free medical consultation, paired with HIV screening.
Helmed by project officers Heart Villanueva and Jane Gaganaocruz, the event was a collaboration with Mujer LGBT Organization that – according to Victoria Lopez, chairperson emeritus of the organization – hopes to foster “positive relationship through social involvement, community support and advocacy.”
“We hope to promote love for humanity, and equality in rights and opportunities,” Lopez said, adding that “knowing one’s health status is important so people can act on what may ail them.” In the context of HIV, “it helps stop the spread of the virus.”
The event was not LGBTQIA-centric, nonetheless; held at the public elementary school of Mampang, it benefited the local populace, particularly those unable to reach medical care due to their socioeconomic status.
For Lopez, “this is also a good way to showcase to the community that “LGBTQIA people matter in the community, and that we can make a change that does not only focus on the rainbow community but the entire community as a whole.”
