61 Barangays ahead, Bagani Community Center taking the lead

written by Rayd Espeja

Bagani Community Center starts its second year with a promising partnership with Bacolod City Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) Federation on April 17, 2021 at Nato’s Cafe and Garden.

With a mont-long conversation with the current Bacolod City SK Federation President SK President Ayesha Villaflor, Bagani secures a series of HIV Awareness Talks to the 61 barangays of Bacolod City. To help mobilize the partnership, Bagani’s allied organization Humanist Alliance Philippines International (HAPI) hopes to sponsor the first of the 61 talks to be held in May 2021.

“We (SK) are looking forward to these HIV Awareness talks in our barangay and in other barangays in Bacolod. We've been wanting to do this but our problem usually is we don't have resource speakers," Villaflor said.

Villaflor expressed her excitement, and like the SK President Ayesha, Bagani is also ecstatic to begin this meaningful relationship, most especially with young servant leaders of the community. To be able to start a conversation is the first step towards awareness and being given the opportunity to touch every barangay in Bacolod City is groundbreaking for the movement that we fervently believe in.

The HIV Awareness Talk starts at Brgy. Banago was delayed to the 15th of May due to developments in the COV- ID-19 situation in Bacolod. The talk will focus on the basics of HIV followed by HIV Screening to consenting participants. The aim of the talk is to spread awareness about HIV, debunk the myths surrounding it, and reduce stigma. Moving forward, the SK officers collaborate with barangays to set schedules for the talk series.

Bagani Community Center continues to be the trailblazer towards the HIV Awareness advocacy in Bacolod City. It is evident from the outpour of support from our partner organizations and members that little by little, Bagani Community Center is becoming a relevant organization in the city of smiles at the forefront of this salient advocacy.

Bagani Community Center maintains a Facebook Page @BaganiBCD where clients can visit anytime to know the latest update from the center. They can also drop messages, we have dedicated volunteers to cater all the questions 24/7 as possible. We also have an active Twitter account, you may follow us @BaganiBCD.