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By Hershey Homol The first time for anything can be downright daunting—be it your maiden trip driving a car, your initial instance asking someone out beyond a coffee date, or even your sexual debut having a casual or romantic encounter. Understandably, your first HIV test may scare the living daylights out of you. Maybe it’s the thought of blood extraction, or the possibilities on the result of the HIV test that leave your palms sweaty. Here are a few reminders to help you prepare and build your confidence before your first HIV test. Photo by Manny Marcelo for The Philippine Star First HIV test reminders 1. No fasting required. “Unlike other medical examinations, HIV testing does not require any form of fasting,” says Rye Gaba del Carmen, LoveYourself Head of Operations. Go ahead and indulge on your favorite snack or drink before going to your scheduled test. 2. Have an open mind. “An open mind is all a client needs to have for this test,” says del Carmen. Let go of your fears, and if

With a batch name that literally means to “hope” and having passed a more selective recruitment process, Batch Hiraya bravely joins the ranks of lovers to help champion HIV screening and positivity. Batch “Hiraya”  For the first time ever, LoveYourself used a Filipino word – hiraya meaning “wish” or “hope” – as the official name for a batch of volunteers. “We've considered Filipino or Tagalog names before, as we think we have a beautiful language, and just decided to do it this year,” says the LoveYourself recruitment team. “We thought hiraya sounded great and is actually pretty appropriate given the changes LoveYourself is going through.” More Selective Each batch including Batch Hiraya is encouraged to train as LoveYourself counselors and assist in manning the advocacy’s HIV screening hubs . The batch also works together on projects to help the advocacy. This system is designed to ease them in to the larger organization’s activities and existing members. But unlike other batc