Ower Alexander Oberto

Ower is a pansexual person living with HIV; he was born and raised in Venezuela. Prior to coming to Canada, he was involved in activism against HIV stigma and homophobia in Venezuela and Latin America. In 2008, Ower established an NGO in Venezuela called “Aprovida” to assist people living with HIV. His role was the Director of Communications; therefore, he was constantly advocating, and reporting all the issues and challenges that affected LGBTQ2+ and HIV-positive individuals in Venezuela. 

He moved to Canada in January 2014, as refugee claimant, since then, he have been involved in activism, promoting human rights for people from the LGBTQ2S+ and HIV communities in Latin America and advocating for services for PLHIV who have precarious immigration status and limited access to health care coverage here in Canada. 

He is currently the Chair of the Board of Directors of Latinos Positivos Toronto, an organization that provides services to Latinos living with HIV in Toronto. He also works with the HIV prevention program of the Centre for Spanish Speaking Peoples. Besides, he volunteers as peer navigator for PWA and Casey House, helping community members, translating from English to Spanish, Portuguese and Italian and helping them to navigate the complexities of the Canadian system.