Danang cafe offers haven for gay people

Nhip Dap, opened by a public health employee, gathers the community of men who have sex with men and also educated them.
In Danang, it remains difficult for the community of men who have sex with men (MSM) to gain social acceptance.
Understanding their predicament, Nguyen The Trung, an employee at the local Public Health Consultation Center, has opened a cafe, Nhip Dap, which works on Saturdays and Sundays.
“It was because I wanted to give a place for the MSM community to hang out," Trung said.
Through shows that Trung and his colleagues put on, the cafe has also become a place for the MSM community to learn about safe sex and HIV-AIDS.
Trung has also opened a dance club to train unemployed gay people so that they can find a job.
The 25-square-meter Nhip Dap, with its yellow lights and nice tables, is a “warm coat” that allows people to be themselves.
Its patrons are willing to listen and help each other.

 

This is a place where people from the MSM community can share their happiness and sadness and can learn about HIV

A student said: “I miss people so much when I cannot go to Nhip Dap. It is a second home for me.”
Vo Thanh Trung, vice president of the Danang AIDS Prevention Center, said: “The coffee shop is a trusted place for gay people and helps prevent the spread of HIV-AIDS in the MSM community.”

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