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Guyana-born activist knighted in St. Maarten
Guyana-born activist, Rajesh Chintaman
Guyana-born activist, Rajesh Chintaman, has been knighted by Governor of St. Maarten, Eugene Holiday, for his unrelenting community development efforts, charitable work and activism particularly in spreading awareness on HIV/AIDS in the Dutch Caribbean territory.
Chintaman, a former photojournalist of the State-owned Guyana Chronicle, was among three recipients of the Royal Decorations on Friday. The awards marked the occasion of the King of Netherlands birthday anniversary observed on April 27.
The recipient, popularly known as Raj, was also instrumental in the formation of the Sint Marteen AIDS Foundation. In addition to the free HIV / testing, for which many volunteers participate annually , gender specific teen awareness school programmes stand out.
His dedication and efforts in the formation of the Aids Foundation‘s Stronger Together Red Ribbon Campaign, which can be credited with raising much needed awareness throughout the local community and galvanizing the private sector into action has earned him the honourable title.
In his professional capacity, Chintaman, who is employed by the Daily Herald (newspapers) in Sint Marteen has been reporting HIV /AIDS since 2002. The journalist later took up the task of developing awareness projects to enlighten youths about the disease.
During his efforts, Chintaman has proven that through his commitment and dedication to the youth of Sint Marteen, in particular, his integral involvement with the development of the real talk programme specifically for teenage boys, has managed to break barriers and engage young people to strive for more knowledge and information to make better life decisions . Over 1500 boys have since participated in the programme.
Meanwhile, the Guyana-born activist also became a member of the establishing committee for Bishop Ellis Foundation (BEF) for the poor and needy.
The non-religious foundation provides at present some 300 people (representing more than 80 families) with monthly food supplies.
In 2010, Chintaman earned the Crystal Pineapple Award for outstanding community service, personal achievement and charitable efforts.
And in May 2012, he was bestowed with the Elton Jones Award for spreading HIV/AIDS awareness to his community.
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