The Tribune

By ALESHA CADET

Tribune Features Reporter

acadet@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas AIDS Foundation’s biggest charitable event, the 20th Annual Red Ribbon Ball, was successfully held last Saturday at the Atlantis Grand Ballroom.

Under a Cirque du Soleil theme “Believe in Zero,” the Red Ribbon Ball was an evening of high flying elegance with a touch of circus flair.

Guest were also entertained by Bahamian music giants Fred Ferguson and the Tingum Dem along with Ira Storr and the Spank Band.

President of the AIDS Foundation, Camille Barnett, told Tribune Health this year’s Red Ribbon Ball followed the World AIDS Day “Getting To Zero” 2013 theme.

“Getting to zero means zero new HIV infections, zero AIDS related deaths, and zero discrimination. We selected the word believe because we believe in the Bahamas and we believe that we can get to zero. For example in terms of mother to child transmission, we are almost there.

“When we say mother to child transmission, we are speaking about the women who are HIV positive, passing it on to their babies. We have a pretty good handle on that and we are almost there,” said Ms Barnett.

At one point in the 1990s, Ms Barnett said the transmission rate was as high as 30 per cent, and this is when the AIDS Foundation started to bring in medication called AZT, which considerably reduced mother to child transmission.

“The government took over the programme and still continues to provide medication, so we are at the point now where we are under 2 per cent.

There are some years when we have no mother to child transmission and there are other years where we have one or two persons. But we believe that it is achievable, so we are asking people to support us in helping us get to zero,” said Ms Barnett.

At the Red Ribbon Ball, a circus ring master was on hand to greet guests as they stepped out of their cars. When they made their way towards the ballroom, mimes directed and pointed showing the way, said Ms Barnett. Inside the ballroom, there were stilt walkers who invited guests under the big tent, exactly like a circus performance.

“It was just a fun evening with lots of prizes and raffles. We had a $10,000 John Bull shopping spree given out. Christmas is coming, and everybody can use that,” said Ms Barnett.

She said events like the Red Ribbon Ball are critical to the Bahamian public because persons have to be continually reminded about HIV and AIDS.

“Sometimes there is kind of a complacency because there is a medication, and people are looking good, so there is a tendency where people chose to not worry about it. Some people even believe there is a cure out there. It is because there is medication, and most people that take the medication do very well on it, but they are still HIV positive,” said Ms Barnett.

Ms Barnett said the Red Ribbon Ball is one way to sensitise and make people aware that HIV is still here; it is still a concern and people still need to know their status.

Speaking about the growth of the ball over the past 20 years, Ms Barnett said: “It is at the point now where people are calling us last minute to find out if we have any space left because they want to be apart of it. So we have actually come a long way in terms of awareness and we have actually removed some of that stigma. The ball is also critical because 50 per cent of the work that we do, the funding comes from the Ball. So it is very important for it to be a successful event,” said Ms Barnett.

One of the Foundation’s largest and most expensive programmes involves working with adolescent children who are infected and affected by HIV and AIDS, said Ms Barnett.

“We have created an after school programme, but it is so much more than an after school programme. It is a holistic program where we offer them support. If it is food, housing, clothing, or just a buddy system, we are there for them. Especially for the children that are positive; we have created a safe haven for them where they know that they can relax and no one is going to reveal the identity of their status,” said Ms Barnett.

She said the reason why the Foundation has included those that are affected, such as the siblings, is because whenever you have a household where someone is HIV positive, it has an impact on everybody in that house.

“It is a big secret that everyone is keeping. No one wants their neighbours or anyone to know. These kids sometimes miss school, because they have to take their family member to the hospital for treatment, and when they are asked why they are missing school, they are holding in this secret.

“We feel like they also need a safe haven, so that is our biggest programme so far,” said Ms Barnett.