Hope, Not HIV

Dear Friends of Roots of Health,

Thank you for standing with young people in Palawan as they take charge of their health. In the Philippines, HIV is moving the wrong way, but in Palawan, your support is helping us move faster. Here are a few stories from the work you're making possible.

1. Care After Hours: Our August Sundown Clinics

School, work, family — a young person's day is full, and a daytime clinic visit isn't always possible. So this August, we are opening our doors after dark. On many evenings this month, our sundown clinic has welcomed students and working young people for free, confidential HIV screening and PrEP, along with honest information about STIs, condoms, and prevention. By simply changing the hours, we've removed one more barrier between a young person and knowing their status.

2. Keri Together: Honest Information, Where Kids Are

Young people look for answers online, so that's where we meet them. Through Keri Together, our Tagalog-language HIV campaign, we share clear, relatable, judgment-free information about HIV, STIs, condoms, and PrEP. It's sexual health explained in a language and voice young Filipinos actually connect with, reaching thousands who might never walk into a clinic first. For many, a post is the first step toward a test.

3. Catching HIV Early — and Reaching Friends Through Friends

Prevention works best when it's led by peers. We've now trained dozens of young Youth Advocates who bring testing, referrals, and real talk about sex and health to their own schools and communities, and it shows. Across our clinics and outreach, thousands of young people have been screened for HIV, many of them referred by a friend who'd been there first. Every test is a chance to catch HIV before it becomes a crisis, and to connect someone to care while they're still well.

4. Prevention Within Reach: Growing Access to PrEP

For young people at higher risk, PrEP is a powerful way to stay HIV-negative. We're steadily expanding how many young people can start and stay on it — pairing the medication with the follow-up and encouragement that keep prevention on track. Alongside PrEP, we continue to put condoms directly into the hands of young people through our clinic, outreach, and youth advocates.

We don't just drop in — we stay. That's how a clinic becomes a place young people return to, and bring their friends. Thank you for being part of it. To see this work as it happens, follow our HIV page, Keri Together, at facebook.com/keritogether.

With gratitude,

The Roots of Health Team

Links:

• A short FB video explaining safre sex practices