A teen living with HIV has received a $200 donation, as a gift, from the the Optimist Club of George Town.
“We held a dime-a-day drive, between five members of the club, that ran from 1 Oct. to 31 Dec.,” said club president Patrice Hanson.
The funds were raised as part of a larger regional Optimist Club programme, called CHARM (Childhood Help and Response Mission). The more than 2,500 Optimist Clubs throughout the Caribbean have each been tasked with identifying an illness or disease plaguing children, Hanson told the Cayman Compass.
“When we contacted the Cayman AIDS Foundation, they told us of the child, but stated that due to the sensitive nature of the illness we could not know the individual,” said Hanson.
The latest data for the Cayman Islands shows that in 2019 there were 73 people living with HIV/AIDS; of that number males made up more than half the population at 45.
In receiving the donation, CAF chief executive officer Noel Cayasso-Smith spoke of the importance of community support.
“It’s truly great to see that the community is becoming so supportive towards HIV,” he said. “Due to the stigma and discrimination here on our three islands”, he added, it has been difficult for people with HIV and AIDS to disclose their status.
Hanson said the Optimist Club will be running another dime-a-day drive and intends to make a similar donation to a childhood cancer-related charity in the coming months. She is also encouraging members of the public to join that saving initiative to raise money.
The first drive was only open to club members, Hanson said, adding “if someone would like to make a contribution to the current drive they are welcome to do so”.
[*] Editor’s note: This story had previously stated that the $200 was a donation towards the cost of antiretroviral treatment. This was incorrect, antiretroviral treatment is free of charge in the Cayman Islands.
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