REYNA NG Davao 2024 1st runner-up Gwen Darvin of Cabantian advocates for Project Bahay Pag-asa Home for the Golden Gays to provide shelter for elderly homosexuals.
During Wednesday’s Habi at Kape on June 26, Gwen Darvin hopes to achieve her advocacy with the help of the local government and the City Tourism Operations Office (CTOO). She has also worked with different organizations to pursue her advocacy to be the first in Davao City and in Mindanao.
Darvin shared that she grew up with a gay father and a broken family, and witnessed the hardships of the LGBTQIA+ community and the discrimination that affected them.
“Growing up with a gay father, I see firsthand the struggles of our golden gays. Lack of job opportunities, being neglected by their own families, and clinging to the stigma of having HIV,” she said.
She added that she and the LGBTQIA+ community are still fighting for equal rights as they are still not politically recognized.
“That’s why we are marching up to this very time that we want to have a safe space for us to grandeur our femininity, to celebrate diversity because we are not asking too much to the community, to the government. We are not asking for special recognition or something. We just want to be recognized fully,” she said.
During the Reyna ng Davao 2024 press presentation on June 10, Darvin dreamed of joining the pageant and expressed her gratitude to the City Tourism Operations Office for providing them a platform not only to showcase their beauty and talent but also to advocate for inclusivity.
