By Jenelle WillabusThe HIV/AIDS epidemic is one which affects persons from all walks of life, but when it took the life of a young woman some 13 years ago, that helped paved the way for an organization that today helps numerous individuals and families.Monique’s Caring Hands Support Centre was launched in 2000 and was officially registered as a Non-Governmental Organization which offers support not only to persons living with HIV/AIDS butSuccessful participants of yet another training programme.for many consumed by social ills.Located at Lot 18 Norton Street, Newburg, Monique’s as it is commonly called was the brainchild of Mrs. Dawn Stewart. Mrs. Stewart was a Military Nurse based in the United States of America where she worked,Wilbert Montgomery Eagles Jersey, but her heart was always with the country of her birth, Guyana. Being in the medical field, Mrs. Stewart was privileged to attend the World Epidemiology Conference to talk about HIV/AIDS more than a decade ago. However, returning to Guyana at the time was not in her immediate plans. But as fate would have it, while attending the conference she recalled being seated next to an Epidemiologist and being privy to world statistics on HIV/AIDS.“As I was talking to this man, he asked where I was from and I said the US, and he said ‘where were you born, I’m picking up an accent?’… and when I said Guyana his face lit up and he started showing me infection rates and other stuff, and he pleaded with me to go back to Guyana and do some work.”Paying little attention to what she was urged to do,http://www.soccerpro.us.com/Atletico-Madrid-FC/, she went back to work. Not long after she received a letter from the Epidemiologist further encouraging her to return to her country of birth to “bring about a change”.This was enough to stir something inside of her, so she began meeting with Caribbean leaders in the United States to see what could be done from the Diaspora standpoint to help fight HIV/AIDS. During one of her first meetings with Caribbean leaders,Michael Jordan White Sox Jersey, the Caribbean American Agenda for HIV/AIDS was discussed and out of that the Caribbean People International Collective Inc. (CPIC) – the parent company of Monique’s Caring Hands was formed. But for Mrs. Stewart that was still not enough to bring help to Guyana.The meeting and the formation of the group was followed by a visitSeveral children who recently benefitted from one of the organisation’s ventures.to Guyana and other Caribbean countries where surveys were done to see what could have been done to address the rapidly growing epidemic of HIV/AIDS. While working with the Diaspora, Mrs. Stewart met another woman with the same newfound passion. But what came next for her and her friend was too much to handle.“A woman on the group we were working with had a daughter named Monique Gildarie and she went into the embassy preparing to go to the United States but she was informed that she was HIV-positive.”Not only was this news devastating for Monique’s mother and other relatives, but it was a wake-up call for Mrs. Stewart.Shortly after, at just 20 years old, Monique died, but something exceptional and lifesaving was birthed. At the first meeting held at Monique’s Caring Hands’ Norton Street office, there were dozens of other ‘Moniques’ who just needed a place to go for a listening ear, advice or just a place to shed some bottled-up tears. Ever since the first meeting back in 2000 not much has changed at Monique’s Caring Hands. As a matter of fact the range of services has expanded as it was found that the issue of HIV/AIDS was just a fraction of the bigger picture in the area of social ills which face Guyanese today.While HIV/AIDS continues to be one of the group’s main focuses, other areas of focus include domestic violence, child abuse, human trafficking, poverty dysfunctional families, substance abuse and at the same time promoting overall healthy lifestyle. To this end, training in all of the above areas is done with persons who visit the organization seeking help. This unique group has programmes specially tailored for persons with almost every need.Longstanding staffer of Monique’s Caring Hands, ms. Sandra Brandt, at one of the outreach programmes at the GPHC.Some of these programs include; Health, improving the health care response to persons involved in risky behaviour. Employers and Employees; creating a safe workplace and enacting policies that help prevent violence.? Leadership Training Programs; this is done through building community leadership to grown skills and foster sustainability. Women and Girls; advancing the health and wellbeing of women and girls to build stron