Open Your Mouth
Open your mouth.  That’s all you need to do to take an HIV test.  A small, flat stick is all that will be used to absorb your oral fluid.  You can take a free and confidential HIV antibody test at the GUAHAN Project and your results will be ready in about a week and a half.  The OraSure test can be performed almost anywhere and in total privacy. 

HIV causes AIDS.  Every 11 seconds someone in the world dies of AIDS.  A lot of Asian and Pacific Islanders think they will never become infected with HIV, even here on Guam.  Some people from Guam think that AIDS is still a gay, white male disease.  In fact, Asian and Pacific Islander women are the fastest growing group of people becoming infected with HIV.

Some people think AIDS is punishment from God and that people who have AIDS are bad people.  Some people on Guam believe that AIDS will never impact them.  Others think that only sexually promiscuous people or drug users get AIDS. 

Blaming people for becoming infected with HIV is not the solution.  Judgmental and apathetic attitudes will not solve this crisis.  We are many years away from a vaccine or cure for AIDS despite the recent advances made in these areas.  AIDS does not go into remission and no has ever been cured of this disease. 

Guam has some very serious challenges in fighting AIDS.  Guam has zero AIDS doctors or specialists.  The reality is that AIDS is a disease that is 100% preventable.  We know how to prevent AIDS.  People with AIDS need the support, love and compassion of their friends, families and care providers.  The shame and stigma of AIDS must be overcome for us to fight this disease.  This means that we also need the support of our churches, especially the Catholic Church.  Guam’s community leaders must also be much more active in AIDS awareness, prevention and education.  Individuals must also speak up and fight the discrimination and misperceptions of AIDS.  Open your mouth.

The GUAHAN Project, Guam’s only AIDS service community-based organization, offers free and confidential OraSure HIV screening services with three certified counselors on Guam in collaboration with the Guam Department of Public Health.  Please call 647-5684, 687-3146 or 688-2635 for more information.   

Written by: Alex Silverio, Executive Director, GUAHAN Project

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Director’s Notes:  The Normal Heart
“The human contribution is the essential ingredient.  It is only the giving of oneself to others that we truly live.”  These are the words of Ethel Perry Andrus.  Words that truly represent the work you are about to witness tonight.  The Normal Heart was just another job I auditioned for as a professional actor.  I played the role of Mickey Marcus.  But I did not realize the impact and the importance of this work as a theatre piece and a message piece.  We learn a great deal about each other based on our histories and actions.  This play is a history on the plague we know as AIDS and is one of most important examples of getting to know what we are up against as activists and people living in the age of this disease. 

The presentation of this play is not as unorthodox as you might think.  Plays go through processes of evolution known as staged readings.  The directors, producers, and playwrights need to see the play “on its feet” and more importantly the actors giving the characters a voice.  We as actors kindly and graciously give you this work as an expression of our dedication to educating the public about AIDS and the prejudice that surrounds it.  The work itself is presented in the simplest form possible – bare stage, uniformed costumes, and basic lighting.  It is now your job to use your imagination to create the scenarios and situations.  We hope to help you in the images you create. 

Now we ask you to contribute and to give of yourself for this cause we feel so strongly. 

Ricky Vergara, Director, The Normal Heart (Read More)