CICF is part of APICHA's Silent Auction!
(In this picture: Yeou Cheng Ma, Suki Ports (one of the founders of APICHA, and me.)APICHA GALA
So I was part of The Asian Pacific Islanders Coalition against HIV and AIDS (APICHA)'s benefit committee until I got silently ousted. Totally my fault; missing too many meetings and spread too thin. I do however LOVE APICHA. They do such amazing things in the APA and the Chinatown community.
Galas are usually not my scene unless I really support a cause. Galas mean that I have to put on a dress and pretend to be a girl. I am also socially awkard and tend to go dateless, but hey...
The gala was beautiful...
I heard the most beautiful music ever...
Yeou-Cheng Ma played the violin as people entered. I later found out she was the sister of Yo-Yo Ma which made perfect sense.
More importantly than the gala itself, I wanted to blog about why APICHA is important.
APICHA's mission is to combat the stigma attached to AIDS and HIV within the APA community. In the APA community, the disease is rarely spoken about and many suffer alone in shame away from family and friends.
I know a lot of APAs since I'm in Chinatown all the time. It's hard to believe that none of them have HIV or AIDS. HIV and AIDS doesn't discrimate against Asians. It is a reality that people I know and care for are suffering in silence.
This is why APICHA is so crucial to our community. It's terrible enough to endure the physical pains of the disease. One should not have to needless emotional isolation.
APICHA is located in the TriBecCa/Chinatown area.
To find out more about APICHA for donations or volunteer opportunities,
visit www.apicha.org
