Liam tells us why they’re taking on this epic adventure to help end new cases of HIV in the UK by 2030.
I came to know about Terrence Higgins Trust and its amazing work when I shared an apartment with someone who worked there. They invited me to join my first London Pride march 10 years ago, and from then I really started to understand the important work that the charity does. Over the years it’s been really incredible to see what the charity’s achieved.
What inspired you to organise your Tuk Tuk fundraiser?
We wanted to do the Tuk Tuk adventure because we knew it would be a hell of a lot of fun and equally challenging. Our organisational efforts started last year on a trip to Spain. The Sophie Ellis-Bextor tunes were playing, the creativity started to flow, and Terry suggested raising some money for charity.
Terrence Higgins Trust was the obvious choice. We live in London with a high population of people living with HIV and are very aware of how significant the impact of HIV has been on our community over the decades.
I’ve been lucky enough to march with Terrence Higgins Trust in London, Brighton and Cardiff Prides over the years. So much has progressed around HIV over those ten years, from PrEP to now focusing on ending new cases by 2030 – something you couldn’t have thought possible 10 years ago. If I can be a small part of that journey then I think it’s important that I take that opportunity to do so.
Who has been involved with the planning of your one in a lifetime adventure?
Our crew is growing! Our efforts have really ramped up over the past month and a lot of our energy has been put into the fundraising. We couldn’t have done that without a few key people.
Our amazing artist Amog Lux has created the most perfect imagery that represents our adventure, our friendship and sense of humour in a couple of beautiful designs. Ricardo (my boyfriend) is our Chief Groupie, encouraging us to push further and keeping us grounded. Hayley (Amog’s boyfriend) is our resident DJ who’s creating some Sophie Ellis-Bextor meets Bollywood remixes for fundraising and to keep us entertained on the trip. Our good friend Google and ChatGPT is playing a big part in planning our logistics in India!
And of course, Sophie Ellis-Bextor herself – she’s aware of our trip and even owns some of our merch!
We’ve received a huge amount of support from family, friends and so many others. It’s incredible to think that what started as a bit of a laugh is starting to take on a momentum that we could never have imagined. Everyone is very excited for us and that’s really spurring us on to really push our fundraising efforts further.
How much are you aiming to raise?
We thought that £2,030 was optimistic but it’s really taken off over the past few weeks and we’re almost there already. We might even double it over the next few months.
Do you have any fundraising tips?
Decide on a fun and inspiring concept, set up a JustGiving page and go for it, and when it starts to feel a bit ridiculous, push it even further. We’re having a lot of fun creating the content and seeing others enjoying the silliness of it all – I mean it’s a Sophie Ellis-Bextor themed Tuk Tuk trip across India, what’s not to love?! Once you get momentum in your fundraising, go go go!
What are you looking forward to when you visit India?
Unfortunately, our 4,000km route won’t take us past the Taj Mahaj so I’m not going to get my Princess Di moment. For me, it’s all about the journey, driving our Tuk Tuk through the most remote parts of India, through mountains and tea plantations, then into major cities like Calcutta and Hyderabad. It’s a bit mind-boggling, scary and incredibly exciting.
Have you used our services? If so, which services have you used and how did they help you?
The free condoms! I’ve used the sexual health testing services and the website to learn more about HIV and PrEP.
I’m too young to remember those horrible AIDS ‘Death Sentence’ adverts on TV but I’ve seen them online and it’s shocking to see that’s how people viewed HIV and people living with HIV. The stigma and sense of shame imposed on people simply through ignorance is horrific. While it still exists sadly, HIV is a whole different world these days thanks to charities like Terrence Higgins Trust educating and campaigning for change.
Why should other people consider supporting people affected by HIV and our work at Terrence Higgins Trust?
HIV has disproportionately impacted our gay community. Whether you’ve directly used the services of Terrence Higgins Trust or not, we’re all benefitting from the services, education and campaigning the charity is doing on a daily basis.
They have a simple and inspirational aim to end new cases of HIV in the UK and that’s achievable, but only with help and support from us. Our LGBT+ community has proven that as a collective we can make the change we want to see for ourselves, and Terrence Higgins Trust need our help to achieve such an important goal.
Terrence Higgins Trust has been incredibly supportive of our efforts, helping us reach a much wider audiences and greatly improve the impact of our fundraising.
Is there anything you’d like to tell us about yourself or your experience of supporting us?
It’s embarrassing now, but on my first Pride march with Terrence Higgins Trust, I remember worrying people might assume I have HIV because I’m marching with the charity – without even realising it, I was carrying my own stigma towards HIV simply because of years of no information or poor information.
Now I understand more about the virus, and I’m incredibly proud to wear the Terrence Higgins Trust T-shirt at Pride and to be able to raise awareness and money for such an important charity.
