Help me see my family in The Philippines this Christmas.

Hi, my name is Paji and I fled The Philippines in 2019 due to the death threats I've received. Many people know me as an advocate for HIV/AIDS awareness and LGBTQ+ rights. It's been almost 6 years since I left the country where I was born and raised for 30 years. Those years were spent living alone and away from my family. Being a refugee was never easy and each of us has different stories. No matter what reasons we had and challenges we experienced to be in a safe country we all have one thing in common and that is being separated from our loved ones and the life we had.

This year I have been so blessed to start a new chapter of my life. Having a peace of mind and a sense of security. This also gave me an opportunity to visit my motherland to see my family again in the near future. I'm hoping to visit them this December as a surprise. Christmas is the longest celebrated holiday in The Philippines. During this season our country is full of love, giving, forgiveness and gratitude. We always celebrate this season with family and loved ones.

Unfortunately this wish is something I won't be able to fulfill by myself. For over 5 years I've been dealing with so many things with my mental health. I wasn't able to work and have a decent income. I've been in and out of the hospital in the recent years. Despite of the thousands of people I was able to help and asked help for globally in different ways it is still difficult to ask help for myself. Making this wish public is not an easy thing for me to do. I'm humbly asking for your help to make my wish come true.

The funds I will be able to raise will be used for my travel expenses. I'm also hoping to have a little gift giving day to other people living with HIV like me in The Philippines. Especially those who are in the hospitals where I used to visit every Christmas.

To all the people who know me or anyone from my family please keep this matter a secret from them. Please help me make this wish to surprise them and spend Christmas with them for the very first time since I left The Philippines. Thank you so much for your kindness!❤️