“I’m a princess (you know what I mean),” says Ronivin “Vinn” Garcia Pagtakhan, who describes himself as a nurse educator and entrepreneur.
Yes, we certainly get his drift, but Vinn’s lighthearted replies do not in any way diminish his commitment to LoveYourself, a foundation that seeks to spread awareness about HIV and help the community of MSMs (males having sex with males) in preventing the spread of the disease.
Born and raised in Taguig, Vinn grew up in a family that had “a very accepting environment.” As a young man, he was very active in academic and extra curricular activities – the “bibo” boy next door who early on was exposed to a lot of medical missions and outreach activities in their area that his mother and grandfather were involved in.
Intelligent and confident, Vinn obtained his Bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of the Philippines Manila when he was just 18, and his career in the nursing profession got jumpstarted when he did very well in the nursing board exams. “I was invited to teach at Centro Escolar University while taking my masters in nursing at the UP Open University, finishing it at the Philippine Women’s University while preparing for my US license,” he discloses. A young man in a hurry, Vinn did all that while he worked on the side as a national (nursing) board exam reviewer.
“I had no time to lose, so when I was about to turn 21, I went to the United States and practiced nursing while doing some volunteer work on the side. I stayed there for a while, but I guess there’s really no place like home,” he admits, deciding to come back home to Manila where he pursued an academic career as a “nurse educator, reviewer, writer, entrepreneur on the side and continued my personal advocacy – helping and sharing in my own little way. Oh, yeah, and I enrolled in medical school and plan to finish indefinitely,” he laughs.
One could say that his life was pretty much complete. “I had a home, a partner, a career; I was giving back to the community, I was happy.”
All this changed in 2009 when his partner for five years passed away due to complications brought about by juvenile diabetes.
“He was my home and my partner in crime since we have the same passion, spending our free time organizing outreach activities in boys town, hospice homes, home for the golden gays.”
Devastated – Vinn certainly was. But instead of wallowing in misery, he channeled all his energy into working, eventually finding meaning and solace in the new blooming social media platform that was Twitter. “It was so engaging and I felt like I was reaching a lot of people, (so) I created the hashtag #twitternurse with my user handle @twitrnurse,” he says, adding that Twitter and hashtags were not as ubiquitous as they have become in the Philippines today. One could say that Vinn bloomed in adversity because pretty soon, he was able to gather around 500,000 followers, surpassing physical limitations as he was able to reach out to more people to talk to them about health, nursing and wellness utilizing social media platforms.
Many were quick to notice his online advocacy. In 2011, his #twitternurse advocacy saw him receiving the “nurse of the year” award from the Shorty Awards (a yearly event considered as the social media Oscars that gives recognition to people and groups who produce the best content across Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, YouTube, Instagram, Vine, and the rest of the social Web) which gained for him several thousands more as followers.
More questions from followers soon poured in, with the inquiries starting to change from healthcare and nursing to HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted illnesses. “Then, a few of my friends started sero-converting (becoming people living with HIV). This ignited the fire; I felt that I could do more and that started my personal advocacy to fight HIV/AIDS. I planned and prepared for something bigger because my gut tells me there are a lot of people who, just like me, want to help the community but don’t have the venue to do so,” he shares.
“So one hopeful day, I met with some friends and friends of friends and presented them my idea of creating a foundation and my hopes of one day building a community center to help other MSMs and the youth.” And that, he says, was how LoveYourself was born.
While chastity is the surefire way to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS, Vinn is practical enough to know the virtual impossibility of imposing that to the young generation, and so groups like LoveYourself advocate safe sex and focus on spreading awareness of HIV especially among the youth.
“My advocacy is very close to my heart. I may not be a person living with HIV but I am affected by it. It’s in my circle and there’s this fire inside telling me that I need to do something about it,” he avers. But while it may take a bit more time before Vinn gets to finish his medical degree (“I think I’ll forever be in med school since I am juggling my career, advocacies and studies”), this young man who displays such infectious optimism and verve is hopeful that in three years, he will be able to build the community center he’s been dreaming about – with a lot of help from friends and supporters who believe in his advocacy.