Red-hot cause

Tue, Aug 19th 2014, 06:37 AM

From 1985, the year the first clinical case of AIDS was identified in The Bahamas, up to December 31, 2012, The Bahamas has had a cumulative total of 12,712 reported HIV infections; 8,186 of those infected persons are believed to have been living with the illness at the end of 2012, according to the UN AIDS Global AIDS Response Progress Report Country Report at March 31, 2014, prepared by the Ministry of Health and the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).While funding for national HIV/AIDS initiatives comes primarily from the government, support for specific initiatives comes from a variety of partners, one of which is the AIDS Foundation of The Bahamas. It is this organization that is gearing up to host the return of the glamorous charity fashion show and cocktail reception known as The Red Dress Soiree, a fundraiser to support the outreach program for adolescents infected and affected by HIV/AIDS. It's a program that provides a safe and nurturing environment where youths receive assistance through three components -- academics, psychosocial intervention and medical treatment.Through its outreach program the AIDS Foundation of The Bahamas provides tutors to help the students with homework assignments and gives them access to computers for schoolwork research; a social worker and case aide also support the teenagers with everything from getting to the clinic, to picking up report cards, to counseling and job preparation skills. The program also works closely with the National HIV/AIDS Program, which refers the participants to the AIDS Foundation program. The beneficiaries are also able to receive a hot meal five times per week.The Red Dress Soiree, which honors successful women who are at the top of their careers and who have impacted Bahamian society in positive ways, will pair 14 women with Bahamian designers to create a red dress or red ensemble that will be showcased by the women on Saturday, September 20 in the ballroom at the British Colonial Hilton at 6:30 p.m. One hundred percent of proceeds raised from the Red Dress Soiree, including funds from ticket sales pegged at $100 as well as the silent auction, will go toward the work of the Bahamas AIDS Foundation to benefit the outreach program.The Red Dress Soiree was staged in 2012 for the first time and organized by Tyrina Neely. It was so successful that the foundation wanted to do it again in 2013, but Neely was unable to. Bahamas AIDS Foundation President Lady Camille Barnett asked Neely if the AIDS Foundation could take over the event. Neely agreed, promising to help when she could."What I love about the Red Dress Soiree is that it's not only a fundraiser, but we're recognizing women in the community who are successful in whatever they're doing and some of the women are humanitarians. We're also recognizing Bahamian designers and highlighting the incredible creativity of our Bahamian designers," said Barnett.The women and designersThe women committed to walking the catwalk for charity this year include Lady Joan Foulkes, Dr. Nicolette Bethel, Alexandra Maillis-Lynch, Inga Bowleg, Pat Walters, Dr. Tracey Halkitis, Karen Carey, Eldece Clarke, Lisa Sawyer-McCartney, Candia Dames, Antoinette Russell, Patrice Ellis, Amanda Lindroth and Marisa Mason-Smith.Participating designers include Brynda Knowles, Jeff St. John, Fenna Mae Lopez, Sabrina Francis, Judy Deleveaux, Theodore Ellyett, Phylicia Ellis, David Rolle, Apryl Burrows, Indira Moss, Kathy Pinder, Patrice Lockhart, Javotte Bethel and Rachel Garcia.In selecting who would take to the catwalk, Barnett said the foundation chose categories and named four people in each category; a committee then made the final selection. Proceeds from the silent auction from the first Red Dress Soiree went to the foundation. Approximately $20,000 was raised. Barnett is hoping to raise at least $20,000 this year. She said it costs approximately $2,000 per person per year in the AIDS Foundation's program. Raising $20,000 would cover the costs for 10 individuals. The Bahamas AIDS Foundation currently serves 80 kids and teenagers.The Bahamas AIDS Foundation's outreach program, which is in its fifth year, was started after members became aware of HIV positive youths who weren't taking their medications. As a result, the children were getting sick and were constantly in and out of hospital. After a few teenagers died, she said they had to do something. The AIDS Foundation decided on an afterschool academic program to engage with the young people. It was their hope that once the children and teenagers became familiar with the afterschool program, they would then try to tackle some of the psychosocial issues concerning taking their medication."We started out with one person and we actually have 80 young people registered in the program," said Barnett. "Not all of our kids come to the afterschool program. On any given day we may have anywhere from 19 to 23 young people actually coming for the afterschool segment of it. Some of the kids, the social worker works with them outside of the program for whatever reason they don't want to come. Or maybe some of them are out of school, but we still work with them and try to help them," she said.The AIDS Foundation's social worker also goes out to clinics whenever they're held to offer support to the young people and invite them to be a part of the outreach program.In 2012, the number of people diagnosed with HIV/AIDS was 383. Of those cases, 293 were newly reported HIV infections, including persons newly diagnosed with AIDS at the time of HIV diagnosis or within the same year as the HIV diagnosis. Over half of the new infections reported in 2012 were among males. Persons aged 15 to 24 accounted for 17 percent of newly reported infections, while persons aged 25 to 44 years made up 50 percent of cases. Ninety-one percent of persons diagnosed in 2012 resided in New Providence, five percent in Grand Bahama and one percent in Eleuthera. Forty-nine percent of newly diagnosed infections in 2012 were among males, while females accounted for 51 percent of cases."With the adolescent program, it's not only the kids who are infected, but those who are affected as well, because when you're in a household and someone is HIV positive, it affects everybody in that household, even if it's the mother, because she may be hospitalized frequently. Then there's this big secret because we don't want anybody outside of our family, even some members of the family, you don't want to know that you're HIV positive. We felt it was important to include those kids who are affected as well in our program, especially if they're looking after that person -- if it's their mom, they're missing days of school, so they are placed at a disadvantage as well," said Barnett.Education is keyThe AIDS Foundation also assists with education. Even though the stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS is not as bad as it was a decade ago, Barnett said it's still there, and education about how HIV/AIDS can and cannot be contracted has to be continuous. According to Barnett, even with the efforts to make education and information available to the public, there are still too many women who do not seek prenatal care until it's too late. She also said there are people in denial who do not take their medication or do not take [the medication] as they should, daily."They say on average three percent of the population is HIV/AIDS positive, and that's a whole lot of people -- and some persons don't even know that they're HIV positive because they don't have any symptoms as they're not sick, they're carriers, and don't know that they're passing it onto someone else," she said.When the Bahamas AIDS Foundation started, its goal was to cater to teenagers from 13 to 18. Today, Barnett has found that the organization is catering to children as young as eight and as old as 23."We're seeing actually a shift in our program from kids who are in school to having more and more kids who are out of school and looking for work. So we're trying to provide them with job skills and job training to help them find jobs," she said.It is funds raised from events like The Red Dress Soiree that go toward helping the foundation do its work; Barnett and the foundation's team are excited to stage the second soiree and raise as much as they can, while at the same time honoring Bahamian women and fashion designers."There are so many fabulous women in our society doing fabulous things, and we just need to recognize them," she said. A new component to the Red Dress Soiree will be the creation of a 2015 calendar, which will be shot by photographer Scharad Lightbourne, featuring the women in red along with their designers."I am so excited about the calendar [which] was the brainchild of Brynda Knowles," said Barnett. "Tyrina had also thought about it but didn't do it in 2012, and when we put the idea to Scharad, he was excited. The women and their designers will be photographed at Sapodilla Estates. Barnett is hoping the calendars will be ready by the AIDS Foundation Ball in November.The Bahamas AIDS Foundation is a non-profit, non-government organization dedicated to the fight against HIV/AIDS in The Bahamas. Its mission is to support the fight against HIV/AIDS in the community; provide education and awareness; assist in the prevention, treatment and cure and provide support for people living with HIV/AIDS.The Bahamas AIDS Foundation was established in 1992 by the Zonta Club of Nassau. The club's members were approached by Dr. Perry Gomez, director of the national AIDS Program, to establish the organization to assist in the fight against HIV/AIDS.Tickets for the Red Dress Soiree are available from Carlyne Smith-McKenzie, executive director of the Bahamas AIDS Foundation located on Delancy Street, telephone 325-9326/7 or can be ordered by email from aidsfoundationbahamas@yahoo.com.

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