By Francine Black, Staff ReporterSHELL COMPANY (WI) Limited employees along with thousands of other Jamaicans are to benefit from an extensive education programme to be undertaken by the company and Bay West Promotions in partnership with the Jamaica AIDS Support (JAS).
The petroleum marketing company's initiative and an islandwide education and fund-raising campaign to be done by Bay West Promotions were revealed a press conference held at the JAS headquarters on Musgrave Road, St. Andrew, yesterday.
"The actual and future impact of the pandemic on business operations requires a comprehensive approach, viewing HIV/AIDS as a socio-economic issue and not just a medical or staff issue," said Mario Vulinovich, Country Director of Shell Jamaica Limited. He said attention and preventive methods should be employed to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS whose impact is widespread.
Shell, which is entering the second stage of its HIV/AIDS educational programme, will be spending a total investment of $1.5 million during the year. The project will target in its first phase 25 per cent of the company's retail network covering Kingston, Montego Bay and Ocho Rios.
EDUCATION PROGRAMME
A mass media education programme with Reggae Sun cable television to be done through a weekly education programme will also be carried out to reach an 'important number of the most vulnerable population'.
In the third phase of this programme Shell will include the work force of its service stations and its truck drivers.
Bay West Promotions, a fund-raising organisation which supports various charities, will be taking a different approach towards its campaign, which is seeking to raise funds to supply medication for inner-city residents living with HIV/AIDS.
The campaign involves a number of projects including a roadshow and a raffle. The roadshow, which has already commenced, will be going to parishes across the island with popular deejays and JAS volunteers to disseminate condoms and information.
Several prizes have been selected and persons bearing JAS and Baywest T-shirts and identification badges have been on the road selling tickets for the raffle.
For Bay West, the loss of a director and a staff member to HIV motivated the decision to help others with the disease.
Shell started its focus locally on the disease last year when the company, in partnership with JAS, trained and certified, 12 employees as basic HIV/AIDS trainers.
As well, approximately 900 students and 145 teachers of schools in the Rockfort community were exposed to basic training about HIV/AIDS, through Shell's intervention.
