Belynda Dunn is living the 1990's nightmare.

But in her seventh year of staring mortality in the face the 45-year-old Boston-based nurse -- a mother of two -- has never felt stronger, more vital, more serene.

"I was diagnosed with HIV in 1991 -- that was a time when there was very little support for people living with AIDS,'' she told The Royal Gazette yesterday. "Within two weeks I was talking about it.

"I just couldn't stay hidden away -- as if I had done something wrong when all I had done was love.'' The African-American Education Specialist for AIDS Action Boston, Ms Dunn is one of two US-based speakers brought to the Island by the Department of Health and the Bermuda AIDS Coalition to observe AIDS Awareness Month.

Together with Mercer University School of Medicine's Chief of Infectious Diseases, Dr. Harold Katner, Ms Dunn will take her story to schools, parents, and prison staff.

"The most important message I can send is to tell people to open their hearts and minds to those suffering from AIDS.'' And for those confronting the disease she says, the message is even simpler: fight.

"Just because you have AIDS doesn't mean you have to lie down and die. Come out of hiding; the only way change is going to happen is for people to step-up. If you have this disease you're politically involved.'' Ms Dunn -- who kicks off this morning with a talk at Warwick Secondary School -- and Dr. Katner are both heavily in demand in the US as AIDS/HIV lecturers.

Dr. Katner meanwhile has appeared in various international and national forums, including National Geographic Magazine. He is known as a tireless force for AIDS education. He arrives on the Island tomorrow.

"We are pleased that Dr. Katner and Belynda Dunn were able to come to Bermuda,'' said the Department of Health's Gaylia Landry.

"Both of them are dynamic speakers who can help us get the message across to the (Bermuda) community that HIV/AIDS is an epidemic we cannot ignore. Young persons in particular need to be educated about the dangers and methods of prevention,'' she said.

AIDS activist -- Boston-based Belynda Dunn.