By Shirley Thomas

A NEW book on HIV/AIDS, which promises to take its readers by storm, was yesterday released in Georgetown, during a formal launch at the Georgetown Treatment and Care Centre, Thomas and New Market Street.

Titled ‘My HIV Story’, the 198 page ‘must read’ book, authored by Guyanese Award-winning journalist, Rawle Andre Nelson, presents 30 chapters of true stories of people living with HIV.
“Told by Persons Living with HIV (PLHIV), the book is dedicated to all those persons who are either living with, or affected by HIV,” says Nelson. It serves as a reward for those who continue to champion the cause of the eradication of stigma and discrimination against people with HIV (PLHIV).
Moreover, he adds: “This book is the first of its kind in the Caribbean. People opened up and revealed what they had kept hidden for many years in the hope that their stories would help prevent fellow Caribbean people from taking the wrong road.”
Commenting on the many chilling revelations by persons who opted to tell their stories about how they became infected with HIV, Nelson asserts: “This book will open people’s eyes and can be used as a teaching tool for young people taking their first steps into the sexual world.”
The publication chronicles stories of the lives of people from Guyana and a number of other Caribbean countries.
He touches on the grim reality: “What was (sometimes) done in secret, exploding into the open like a ‘bomb,’ affecting everyone within range of its blast.”
The objective, Nelson says, is to have the book get into schools and vulnerable groups. Already he has forged a relationship with the President of the GTU, Mr. Mark Lyte, with the hope that he would be able to influence teachers who are members of his union, to familiarise themselves with the book. That being done, teachers would be able to promote the book. In fact, he says his work is for his two sons who are both under ten.
Among those attending the launch were: Dr. Martin Oditt, UNAIDS Representative in Guyana; Programme Manager of the National AIDS Programme Secretariat (NAPS), Dr. Shanti Singh; Mrs. Debra Success-Hall, Coordinator of Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT); Dr. Ramos and Ms. Jennifer Ganesh, also of NAPS; President of the Guyana Teachers’ Union; and President of G+, Ms. Chystol Albert.
Among the speakers were Dr. Shanti Singh who has always been supportive of the work of Rawle Nelson in HIV/AIDS and Dr. Ruth Ramos who commended the initiative and offered the author words of encouragement.
Nelson has expressed thanks and appreciation to those who have partnered with him along the way, including those who have given him moral support. Such persons include: Rev. Patricia Bisnauth, Executive Director of the Guyana Responsible Parenthood Association; Dr. Edward Green, U.N. Special Envoy for HIV in the Caribbean; Dr. Shanti Singh; Dr. Ruth Ramos of NAPS; Travis Benain, President of UWI STAT Corps, Cave Hill Chapter; Dr. Gina Watson, OECS and Barbados PAHO; Grenada University of Science and Technology; and Mr. Trevor Thomas, former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health.
The book which is being sold for $7,000 and can now be found in local bookstores, was also on sale at last evening’s Annual World AIDS Day show ‘The Ribbon and the Flame’ at the National Cultural Centre. It can also be had on Amazon.com and Amazon UK.