2011 Annual Letter From Rosie Hodge-Adams
This year, Children of the Caribbean, Inc.’s focus is on children who live with HIV in the Caribbean.
Children living with HIV in the Caribbean face the toughest battles every single day of their lives. They not only have to combat the physical effects of the disease, but they also have to deal with the discrimination and emotional pain that accompanies their condition. These children, the majority of whom were born HIV positive through no fault of their own, are forced to deal with an d understand the hardships in life way too early in life. They are forced to live with shame, and experience the brunt of the stigma of being HIV positive.,
Approximately three quarters of the 250,000 [190,000 – 320,000] people living with HIV in the Caribbean are in the two countries of the island of Hispaniola: Dominican Republic and Haiti. But national adult HIV prevalence is high throughout the region: 1% – 2% in Barbados, Dominican Republic and Jamaica, and 2% – 4% in the Bahamas, Haiti and Trinidad and Tobago. However, HIV surveillance in the Caribbean is generally considered inadequate, so these reported trends are only vague indicators. Both HIV prevalence and AIDS cases are thought to be widely underestimated in the region.1
According to the Leadership Campaign on AIDS [program of the Office of HIV/AIDS Policy] managed by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, HIV/AIDS infection rates in the Caribbean are among the highest in the world, second only to those of sub-Saharan Africa.2
We have made a commitment to the Cyril Ross Nursery on Trinidad and Tobago to assist its children by refurbishing and expanding their pharmacy, creating a sick bay room, updating their library, and fixing structural defects in the physical building, including the roof and bathrooms. The Cyril Ross Nursery is one of seventeen institutions of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. In 1994 a decision was made to use the Cyril Ross Nursery building as a home for HIV positive children who were abandoned at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital. When the home started, three (3) children (all of whom are still alive) were brought from the hospital, and over the years their numbers have grown to thirty eight (38). There are children who came in as toddlers who are now adolescents. The Cyril Ross Nursery is the only home of its kind in the entire Caribbean that provides for and takes care of children who are HIV positive and/or AIDS infected, both as residents and out patients.
During the first eight years, seventeen (17) children died. However, with the granting of free medication by the Government in 2000, there have been no deaths since. Cyril Ross Nursery is fortunate to have the services of volunteer doctors – Dr. David John and Dr. Nosa Everest Omo-Igbinomwanhia.
I had the privilege of visiting the children at Cyril Ross Nursery in July of this year, and was humbled by their outlook toward life. They were a happy, optimistic bunch of kids who looked at each day as a blessing, and appreciated everything provided to them — from an acknowledging glance to a big warm hug! I met with the warm manager and staff of the home and the Director/Honorary Secretary of the St. Vincent de Paul, and learned of some of the difficulties faced by the children and the institution as well. It is difficult to imagine how an institution such as Cyril Ross Nursery, being the only one of its kind in the entire Caribbean, can be experiencing the level of financial hardship that it does.
Keri and Eric Close are dear friends of Julien and mine and are remarkable philanthropists as well. They have raised money to build schools for children in Africa, and have offered to do the same for the Cyril Ross Nursery. With the support of my generous board members and our friends, our goal is not merely to provide the needed assistance to the physical structure of Cyril Ross Nursery, but to improve the quality of lives of the children in any way that we can. I encourage everyone to join us in this effort, and to lend your support in whatever way you can.
Rosie Hodge-Adams Co-Founder, Children of the Caribbean, Inc. August 2011
Recent Comments