AIDS Camp Continues Struggle For Survival:
By Kendea Jones -
Nassau, Bahamas:

Supervisor of All Saints Camp of St. John the Divine Theresa Glinton has a lot of work to do every day.

That’s because Ms. Glinton is the only person who ensures the camp is operated smoothly on a day-to-day basis.

"I get up at five every morning, take my children to school and then I am here to cook breakfast for everyone," she said.

According to Ms. Gibson, there are 65 residents at the camp, which the late Rev. Glenroy Nottage started years ago to care for people with HIV/AIDS.

"It was like a forest," Ms. Glinton said of the area the camp sits on, on Lazaretto Road, off Carmichael Road in New Providence.

"Rev. Nottage got together with Scotia Bank and Royal Bank of Canada and he also got involved with the Kiwanas Club and they came to the agreement that they would help him build some cottages," she said.

More than two years after Rev. Nottage’s death, the camp is still struggling and – according to Ms. Glinton – in urgent need of support from the community.

She said most people who come to the camp have nowhere else to go.

"Family members drop them off because they don’t want to look after them," she said.

"A lot of them came from off the streets like drug addicts and that is why we took them in too because of their illness and other homes are not going to take them in."

She said her job also entails cleaning the entire camp and making sure that every patient feels at home.

"Everyone here is already sick so everything has to be clean at all times and they should have clean clothes at all times," Ms. Glinton said.

She added that although full-time medical attention is needed at the camp, there are no funds to hire a doctor.

"A doctor was here full-time in the early ‘90s, but he never came back," Ms. Glinton said. "We have a van that is working that we got on the road and every two weeks we make sure that they go to the doctor to get their [examinations] done."

Ms. Glinton said even though the majority of people at the camp are bedridden, some others are active.

"We still make the ones that are bedridden feel at home," she said. "They have wheelchairs so they can come out when activities happen."

The government has allocated $10,000 for the All Saints Camp in the 2007/2008 budget.

Ms. Glinton said this is not enough, but she said the camp gets financial support from some local churches and charitable organizations.

She also said the physical environment of the camp is less than desirable.

Ms. Glinton said even though she tries her best to keep the environment clean, there are still some challenges.

"Some of our cottages are really damaged. We have young babies in here," she said. "Some of the kitchens are not in good condition."

The white paint on some of the cottages is peeling off the walls and most of the buildings appear to be in need of a facelift. The cracked pathway also needs repairing, as do the wooden fences outside the cottages.

The camp is located on a hill and surrounded by thick vegetation. Its quiet surroundings speak to the fact that many of the patients are bedridden.

Ms. Glinton added that the rainy weather makes the work hard.

She said what is needed for the survival of the camp is support from the community.

"Our big thing here is we need the community to come together and come around and see what all needs to be done here," she said. "We have 17 children here and all of them have to go to school. You’ve got to find food, find funds for their school fees; you got to find something for them every day.

"We really need a lot of help. If the community could just get together and just come out and see for themselves [they would see we need a lot of help]. We are not looking for money. We are looking for the community to come and give us a helping hand on the buildings."

24 September 2007