The Caribbean Communities Coalition (CVC) yesterday observed World AIDS Day by recognising the leadership of some its members of the vulnerable communities in keeping who risk stigma and discrimination by taking a stand for their community.
The group in a release commended those leaders for their bravery and commitment to a world without AIDS and a Caribbean where social justice in a reality.
Twenty-four-year-old Elias Ramos of the Dominican Republic, the leader of Youth in the Real World that targets marginalised youth to increase their resilience to HIV, was recognised for his work. The young man believes that an effective response takes more than disease specific interventions and includes broader development strategies.
For her work with crack and cocaine users Lonie Whorms in Kingston, Jamaica was hailed as her work is built on the conviction that she does not want anyone else to go through what she went through while addicted to crack and cocaine. Her work sees her taking meals to those who are homeless to transporting others to health centres and also by being part of a civil society response to substance use and advocating for policy change.
Nigel Mathlin provides leadership for gay men in Grenada by arranging activities for them along with lesbians and bisexuals through the GrenCHAP, the local AIDS-prevention community-based organisation of which he is a co-founder.
Guyanese Miriam Edwards provides leadership for sex workers as she is intent that HIV awareness among sex workers must be heightened in the region. Through her organisation ‘One Love’, the Caribbean Sex Work Coalition and the recently formed Guyana Sex Work Coalition, Edwards conducts training session for sex workers, distributing condoms and safer sex material, visiting those living with the virus in the hospitals or their homes and advocating at the national, regional and international levels for the rights of sex workers and other marginalised groups in the Caribbean.
Guyanese human rights activist Donna Snagg provides leadership for involuntary re-migrants as she had the experience of being deported from the US ten years ago but she used the encounter to mobilise other persons with similar experiences in Guyana. She has founded the Juncata Juvant Friendly Society which caters for the needs of those persons and also focuses on assisting this population to reintegrate into Guyanese society and empowering them to be self sufficient.
Nicholas Morgan works with the HIV infected in Jamaica since as at an early age he baby sat children living with the virus and helped them with their homework and with other tasks. The young man has stamped his voice on public service announcements for radio and he is also one of the mentors to other children.
