Sunday, January 28, 2007 11:13 PM

Heart-beats of the World, Inc.
1st. Annual Benefit Luncheon

Sunday, September 28, 2003

New York Hilton Grand Ballroom
New York, New York

It is very comforting to know that, in the midst of all of the indifference and much of the coldness of the world, there still beat hearts of compassion for those that suffer. This is the main theme behind the Heartbeats of the World organization, which has shown time and again the difference(s) that a little compassion can make in the lives of those far worse off than we.

The Heartbeats of the World ("HOW") luncheon began with a beautiful singing presentation of the National Anthems of both the United States and Jamaica, where Heartbeats does a tremendous amount of its work for those less fortunate. The purpose of the organization is to integrate communities all over the world, creating one large community that people can then feel they belong to. Specifically, the children of the world need to feel that are also an invaluable member of society, after all, these children of today, when given the right opportunity TODAY, can grow up to become TOMORROWS Doctors, Lawyers and Benefactors. The children are, indeed, our greatest natural resource. HOW's main hope is to support the health, education and welfare of women and children in the underserved areas of the world One of its goals, for example, is to install a state-of-the-art diagnostic laboratory/medical facility to provide maternal,child and adolescent health services to needy women and children in Jamaica and the other islands of the Caribbean, with a focus on pediatric HIV/AIDS.

I listened to Dr. Karlene Chin Quee, MD, the President and CEO of Heartbeats of the World, explain to everyone how serious the AIDS epidemic really is. She opened by stating that the worldwide population of people living with the disease is estimated to exceed 42 million, according to the U.N. To really understand the magnitude of such a high number, it is higher than the total combined populations of New York, Paris, New Delhi and Moscow. The number of deaths due to AIDS and AIDS related illnesses has exceeded 25 million, with an additional 8500 people dying every single day. Ten million children have already become orphaned as a result of AIDS, and an additional 33 million will become orphaned by the end of the decade unless we take immediate action. In the Caribbean, there are more deaths caused by AIDS/HIV than are caused by any other disease known to man. The only region anywhere where there are more cases of AIDS/HIV reported (in proportion to the population) is Sub-Saharan Africa, although the World Bank is now warning us that the current situation in the Caribbean is very similar to that of Africa. The percentages of people living with HIV are highest in areas like Haiti (6.1% of the adult population are infected), Guyana, Trinidad/Tobgo and the Dominican Republic (2.7%), making the infection fsrate in the United States (0.6%) seem miniscule.

Dr. Chin Quee quoted Congessman Rangel as saying, "Money for the AIDS fight in the Caribbean is about saving lives, saving the fabric of the Caribbean economy and society. We must do more.". One of the goals of Heartbeats of the world is to design a state of the art medical facility in Kingston, Jamaica, to bring the latest advances in medical treatment to the Caribbean. In our effort to encourage a population that includes a more diverse group of people, Heartbeats' two top committments are toward maternal, child and adolescent health, as well as education. Since one of the more prevalent places within the Caribbean where medical ecucation is encouraged is Jamaica, the Heartbeats program has chosen to use Jamaica as the location from which to launch the Heartbeats project.

In recognizing the importance of such projects to help fight the global AIDS epidemic, it behooves us to recognize the compassion and dedication of the people who's accomplishments have made a tremendous impact on the progress of such programs. Ladies and gentleman, I present to you the honorees who were honored at the Heartbeats of the World 1st Annual Benefit Luncheon. Representative Charlene, from the Brooklyn Borough President's office, presented a Proclamation from the Brooklyn Borough President's office to Dr. Chin Quee and her husband, Robert Longman, Esq., for their outstanding accomplishments through the Heartbeats of the World program. Basil K. Bryan, Consulate General of Jamaica/New York presented a beautiful award to Robert C. DeSouza for his tremendous dedication accomplishments. Grezzel Cherrie D. Cathnott was presented with an award by the Honorable Harry J. Fouche, Consulate General of Haiti for her accomplishments, and special recognition was given to Thyra Heaven, Founder and Chairman of Heartbeats of Jamaica and special recognition was given to Daphney Mahoney by Thyra Heaven, Founder and Chairwoman of Heartbeats of Jamaica and by Dr. Chin Quee. Father Gregory Ramkissoon, of the Mustard Seed Communities, was also given honorary recognition.

The entertainment was wonderful. Gina Breedlove, a well known singer for Broadway's Lion King play, and her group, sang beautifully. Former Ambassador of Jamaica started off with a Tina Turner act, wearing a lovely red dress, singing Tina Turner's song "What's Love Got To Do With It"?", and came later out dressed in a beautiful wedding gown, singing Madonna's famous song "Like a Virgin". The crowd was on their feet. Following this, three time McDonald's Gospel Singing Champion Gerald Placide, from the island of Trinidad, sang two of the beautiful spritual songs with his glass-shattering voice. Mr. Placide also opened the event by singing the National Anthem. The crowd really appreicated Gerald's singing with a well-deserved, standing ovation for his spiritually uplifting songs.

There was an absolutely beautiful a high level fashion show featuring some of the most beautiful models, who were flown in from different parts of the world for this beautiful and memorable event. Miss Jamaica World 2003, Jada Fulford and Miss Jamaica USA, Camilla Johnson came down the runway in beautiful gowns designed by top designers Uvisi. The specially built runway was uniquely trimmed with elegant flowers. Some of the designers who's fashions were showcased were Karen Young, ZamBarrett, Diva Glam (Full Figured Models), Michael Givens, Angelo Lambrou, Dwayne Fish, and Roger Garry's evenwear. These designers together represented, couture, sportswear, evenwear, beachwear and many more designs. It was a high level fashion show which the crowd appeciated immensly.

 

Unless told one surely would not know this was the first event of its kind. We would like to thank Dr. Chin Quee, President and CEO of Heartbeats of the World (HOW) for having invited us to come and cover this beautiful event as the official online magazine of this event. She did a marvelous job of organizating, and we trully endorse and support her, along with her organization, in their battle against the worldwide AIDS epidemic.

Anyone wishing more information about this wonderful organization, and any of its affiliates, please feel free to may visit their website at www.howunited.org.

The African American and Caribbean Section is headed by assistant editor Annette Johnson, and Liberty News Online Staff Writers contributing articles. It will cover articles about the African American and Caribbean communities throughout the U.S.A. For more information, feel free to email us at lncarib@hadofnyc.org. If you are interested in having us cover one of your events, feel free to notify us one week in advance, so we can add you to our master calendar, and have our Liberty News Staff come and write an article about your event. Feel free to email us at lnevents@hadofnyc.org, or telephone us at (718) 507-7616 between the hours of 8:00am and 8:00pm, and ask to speak to Annette or Steve