Ian Allen/Staff Photographer
Yvonne Joy Crawford (left), president of the Kiwanis Club of New Kingston, congratulates Margaret Burke (right) and Hazel Russell, retired nurses who served the health sector for 49 years. They were honoured for their dedication to working with people infected with HIV/Aids. The occasion was the club's prayer breakfast, held at the Stella Maris Roman Catholic Church in St Andrew, yesterday.
Andrew Wildes, Gleaner Writer
THREE OF Jamaica's unsung heroines have been honoured by the Kiwanis Club of New Kingston for their stalwart contribution to the fight against HIV/AIDS and the stigmatisation that still faces many persons with the virus.
The women were honoured at the club's annual prayer breakfast which was held under the theme 'Live So Others May Live'.
This was more than a fitting description for Hazel Russell, Margaret Burke and Dr Patricia Burke, three of the Jamaican pioneers in the ongoing fight against AIDS.
The three started working with AIDS victims in the late 1980s when the disease was relatively unknown, underresearched and heavily stigmatised.
Dr Burke is credited with having identified the first case of paediatric AIDS in Jamaica.
Russell, in 1992, a year after her retirement, was hand-picked to join a high-level team to tackle the epidemic.
The selflessness and dedication of the third honouree, Margaret Burke, is demonstrated by the fact that half of her years of service to the HIV/AIDS fight came after her official retirement from nursing.
While Dr Burke, who now lives overseas, was unable to attend the event, but Russell and Burke were quick to share their take on the progress being made in the fight against the AIDS epidemic in Jamaica.
"One thing I am glad to see is that it is out of the cupboard, because there was a time when you couldn't say AIDS in public," Russell said.
"It was so much like a secret, and that is why first time, people who had it were so fearful! When they come to the hospital, they tell you they have something far different," she said.
'Gentle giant'
Nurse Burke, who in her day was described as a 'gentle giant' because of her tall frame and unflagging dedication to her job, was visibly moved by the praises lauded on her.
"I'm happy I am alive to see this. This honour came to me as a great, great surprise. I am now on the verge of tears," she said.
"I think they are making great strides because in the beginning, it was a learning experience, as it was the first time we were having such a disease in Jamaica ... . I am so happy that I was able to do my part."
andrew.wildes@gleanerjm.com