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 KIKI WHITLOCK: Mabuhay! My name is Kiki. I am a Filipina-American post-operative male-to-female transsexual bisexual woman. As Transgender Program Coordinator at Asian AIDS Project [now A&PIWC]. I provide health education through outreach, advocacy, and peer counseling. Also I chair the Transgender Task Force of San Francisco's Human Rights Commission, advocating for anti-discrimination legislation for transgender people. | ||
 NORIHITO: Why did I start to volunteer? It was an opportunity to get to know a person I was interested in. I also felt that it was necessary to learn about safe sex. Homophobia was very present in my past life. I feel that I have only very recently been able to to break away from it. Now I want to spend more time getting to know myself and my community. Through being a volunteer, I can feel good about myself. I have met good people who have become good friends. Volunteering gives me a lot of pleasure. I will try to start a trading business between Japan and other Asian countries when I go back to Japan. Through working with other volunteers, I get to know more about the cultures of other Asian countries. That is also another benefit of volunteering for me. | ||
 ADHIA PRIA PRADANA: I was born and raised in Jakarta, Indonesia. I am the eldest an a lot is expected of me. I am supposed to be a role model for my 3 siblings -- a tough job. I am a man who is attracted to other men. In the U.S., I am called a gay man. It is tough to be gay in my country. There is a gay population in Indonesia, but it is not as open as it is here. I am a peer educator with the Asian AIDS Project [now A&PIWC]. I like the fact that my work is focused on the Asian community, but I want to do more. There are many more people we need to reach. When I am ready, I will go back home and work for the benefit of my country. I will start a HIV prevention program in Indonesia. And I will fight for my rights. I want my family to be proud of what I am doing. I want them to know that I love them, and that I am proud of myself. I am proud of being gay. | ||
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These Photographs were all taken one Saturday afternoon in September 1994 at the offices of the Asian AIDS Project [now the A&PIWC] in San Francisco. These cards, funded by the Centers for Disease Control, are four of many produced as part of a broader outreach program that provided information on the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases, as well as peer-counseling and support for people in the Asian & Pacific Islander community with HIV and AIDS. As of May 1997, the cards are still being used to positively introduce people to the realities of AIDS and Lesbian, Gay, and Transgender lifestyles. I am proud to have been associated with the card project and I dedicate this page to the staff and enthusiastic volunteers of the Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center. Should you wish to assist in the work of the Wellness Center, you can send your contribution directly to the address above, or -- if you live in the area -- and would like to volunteer your time or services, please phone the Center at (415) 227-0946. You can also go directly the the Wellness Center's web page where you can get additional information, if you click on the Center's name at the top of this page.  page II. |
