Uplifting words for Jamaica AIDS Support - Golding says organisation has acted as pioneer in care of those afflicted
Published: Wednesday | December 2, 2009
Prime Minister Bruce Golding has showered praises on Jamaica AIDS Support for Life (JASL), noting that the organisation has paved the way for care and support of people living with HIV and AIDS.
"They took up this thing and went out in front, at a time when it was particularly challenging, at a time when perceptions were so dark and retrogressive," Golding said in an address at yesterday's World AIDS Day Annual Outstanding Leadership Breakfast at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston. "They were taking new risks because they were symptomised with all sorts of unsavoury things, and yet they went out and took a public position; they took a stance."
Others lauded
The prime minister also lauded other organisations and individuals that have been working with people who are living with the disease.
He added that the JASL has made significant contributions to people living with HIV and AIDS in the country.
"They made it clear that persons who might be infected with HIV/AIDS are not outcasts; these are not persons to be locked away and shunned," Golding said.
He noted that when the JASL began, the pioneering work took tremendous courage and leadership, and he commended the organisation for the work it has done and the persistence it has shown.
Golding said other organisations and individuals, through their work, have led to benefits, including greater awareness of what HIV/AIDS is about, and a greater sense of appreciation for the challenge that it poses, as well as the responsibility to deal with it in a more proactive and unattached way.
Executive director thrilled
Stacy-Ann Jarrett, executive director of the 18-year-old JASL, was not at the breakfast, but was thrilled to hear about the commendations her organisation received from the prime minister.
"We are encouraged that we are getting recognition at that level," Jarrett told The Gleaner. "As he (Golding) said, even before the national programme started, we took on the mantle of working with these groups to protect people from infection, and to care for people who are living with HIV and AIDS."
She said that, after 18 years and different experiences, the organisation has remained constant against the tide.
"We have not changed one bit, we are still doing the very same thing and we are hoping that we will get the support, not just from the prime minister but every average Jamaican who really understands what this epidemic is about," Jarrett said.