Anguilla’s Race Against AIDS – How it all began

Anguilla’s Race Against AIDS – How it all began

The brainchild of Optimist Steve Munroe, Anguilla’s first ‘Race Against AIDS’ was held on Sunday 30 November 2003, under the theme ‘Raise Aware, Make a Difference’. At first it seemed like a huge undertaking, this notion of planning, organising and executing an event that would attract regional and international participation. But like most things, once you ‘wrap your head around it’ and get to work with a team of committed, dedicated individuals, even an impossible dream can become reality.

The suggestion of an Optimist service project to bring the spectre of HIV and AIDS from the back of our minds to the fore and from being perceived as someone else’s problem to everybody’s reality, came from Dr Carol Jacobs Haynes, governor of the Caribbean District of Optimist International in the Optimist year 2001 – 2002. It took the Optimist Club of Anguilla almost a year to move it from a suggestion by our governor to an event on our island.  Past Governor Carol, had at that time (and to this day) a deep passion for community service and a drive to be an active soldier in the fight against HIV and AIDS…she would later go on to serve a two year term starting in 2005, as chair of the board of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. And she continues to be an active Optimist in Barbados and the broader Caribbean District of Optimist International.

Back to Anguilla’s first Race Against AIDS. That first organising committee was made up of individuals from a number of stakeholder organisations including the Ministry of Social Development, the National HIV/AIDS Awareness Programme, The Tourism Department, the Sports Department and of course the driver of the initiative, the Optimist Club of Anguilla. There were also individuals representing no particular organisation but who wanted to assist, out of a passion for the cause.  One such person who comes most readily to mind is the indefatigable Althea Turner, an avid HIV/AIDS awareness activist in the Anguillian community. The logo and image that is still being used to promote the race was created by Althea and Bob’s daughter Breeze Turner and the theme ‘Raise Awareness, Make a Difference’ was proposed by Sutcliffe Hodge. Sutcliffe served as a member of the ‘Anguilla’s Race Against AIDS’ Committee in his capacity as the president of the National HIV/AIDS Committee and his suggested theme was unanimously accepted by all on the committee and the general membership of the Optimist Club of Anguilla. Patricia ‘Teacher Patsy’ Beard was also another person who was obviously a natural fit for the organising committee having spent many, many years working to ‘raise awareness and make a difference’ in Anguilla.

After several months of meeting, planning and organising, the first ‘Anguilla’s Race Against AIDS’ was held. Participants, athletes and officials came from far and near, and from start to finish this event could easily be considered one of the greatest successes of the Optimist Club to date – and the Club has had many successes! Athletes came from St Maarten, Antigua, Barbados, St Vincent and the Grenadines and the USA to participate in ‘the race’.  We even had one participant from Switzerland. His name is Christian  D’Onofrio and in an email to the club on 15 November 2003 he wrote “I’m not a runner but I think for Anguilla it is a special event. So it would be for me, if I could come to Anguilla for a weekend to participate in it.” Christian did come with his wife Manuela and he participated.

The first ‘Race’ was also able to attract three very distinguished (and busy) personalities from St Croix, US Virgin Islands in the persons Dr Cora L. Christian and her husband Ambassador Simon. Dr Christian holds the distinction of being the first local female of the U.S. Virgin Islands to become a medical doctor and has been a prominent figure in the Virgin Islands for over 30 years.  Ambassador Simon was at that time serving as the St Kitts and Nevis ambassador to Caricom.  The other very special guest at ‘the race’ was  Congresswoman the Honourable Donna M. Christensen, the United States Virgin Islands delegate to the US Congress who distinguished herself in many ways including as the first female physician in the history of the U.S. Congress, the first woman to represent an offshore Territory, and the first woman delegate from the United States Virgin Islands.

Other special guests were Linda St. Hubert and her son Isiah and Virginia Ross and her three girls Lisa Ross, Ashley Jackson and Schaneil Scott from the US and Dr. Gerard van Osch from St Maarten; all HIV/AIDS activists in one way or another.

That weekend was an exhilarating one with much positive energy and good vibes;  from the welcome cocktail party hosted by Governor and Mrs Peter Johnstone at Government House on Friday  28 November 2003 and at which Dr Christian gave the feature address, to the actual race event on Sunday 30 November where over 100 person in total participated in one of three races – the half marathon, 10K or 5K.  It was an event that every single member of the Optimist Club of Anguilla who was on island participated in, in one way or another – every one of them turning out at 5:00am on the morning of ‘the race’. And it was the beginning of what has become a fixture on Anguilla’s Events Calendar.  Though the grandeur of that first race has not been repeated to date, ‘Anguilla’s Race Against AIDS’ continues to attract support from athletes around the Caribbean and has the potential to attract athletes from more countries around the world.  The organisers recognise the importance of focussing more on the ‘awareness’ than the ‘race’ element of the event, and each year there is a push to attract more and more children and youth to ‘Anguilla’s Race Against AIDS’.

Avon Carty: 29 December 2009