Record Details:

Institut Brenda Strafford

Main/General Business E-mail Address: (hidden)
Website: http://institutbrendastrafford.org/

Management Contact: (hidden)

Mission: It all started by an observation: among the usual load of people coming to a small health clinic in Cote-de-Fer, a village in the south of Haiti, several patients presented eye problems. The nurse in charge, Sister Evelyne Tremblay, felt powerless to adequately address these problems. She turned to her government, The Canadian Embassy in Port-au-Prince, seeking professional help. Months passed. One day, someone from the embassy told her that there was an organization called 'Operation Eyesight Universal' that might be able to provide assistance. Sister Evelyne met with a Mr. Jenkins, who showed immediate interest in the project of starting an eye clinic. However, Operation Eyesight International was involved in several projects in underdeveloped countries and could not come with the monies necessary to actually fund an eye clinic. "However," Mr. Jenkins said, "I have a good friend who could be interested." Thus entered Dr. Barrie. I. Strafford, president and CEO of the Brenda Strafford Foundation, a charitable organization based in Calgary, Alberta (Canada), which was looking to possible projects abroad. Listening to Sister Evelyne, Dr. Strafford became immediately interested. Shortly thereafter, he was personally supervising the beginning of what would become Institut Brenda Strafford, committing his foundation to support this worthy project. That was in 1982. Less than two years later, in March 1984, the new building was ready to host the new Institut Brenda Strafford.

Meanwhile, Sister Evelyne managed to have the new organisation get a non-profitable, charitable status that would allow it to import medical equipment and drugs free of customs fees. Thus, in 1982, the Institut Brenda Strafford was officially created and started to operate as an Annex of Hopital General des Cayes, the State-operated hospital.

Although Ophthalmology was its key specialty, in 1992, some observers suggested that another discipline be added to the already well-established Institut Brenda Strafford, the Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT) seeming the logical choice. Specialists from Canada, Belgium and Holland came over and set the new department. Soon the ENT department was fully established and patients started coming on a regular basis.

Over the years, the Institut grew, both in size and in competence. The word of mouth spread the Institut's reputation nationwide and soon, patients were coming from all over the country, from the capital, Port-au-Prince, to places as remote as the Gonave Island or Mole St. Nicolas in the Northwest Corner of the country. Institut Brenda was the recognized leader in Ophthalmology and ENT, a reputation that has yet to be challenged.

Today, the hospital sees about 4,000 patients every month, and contributes to the well-being of the whole Haitian people, without ever forgetting its modest roots and its fundamental mission: to provide quality, specialized health care at affordable cost to the Haitian people.

Brenda Strafford Foundation
http://www.straffordfoundation.org/haiti.html





This organization provides Temporary or Permanent Service? Permanent

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