On one of our trips to the Dominican Republic we met Jesus Alberto, a beautiful 5-year old boy who had undergone 8 eye surgeries. Jesus remained blind in his left eye and had only 15% of normal sight in his right eye. PPAAJ was able to find several donors whose generous contributions helped pay for a valve replacement in his right eye. Once Jesus recovers from that procedure, his doctors will be able to perform a cornea transplant in his left eye offering this little angel a chance for normal vision.

Voluntariados de Jesus is a children’s hospital in the Dominican city of San Felipe Puerto Plata. The young patients at this facility often require medications when they are admitted that their parents simply cannot afford. Through ProJecto’s efforts, these wonders of modern medicine have become more readily available.

Transportation to the hospital in the Dominican Republic is often a difficult task, as emergency medical rescue as we know it in the United States is virtually non-existent. In the city of Puerto Plata on Dominican north coast, there is a non-profit ambulance service known as Rescate Ambar. ProJecto provided basic ambulance supplies to this worthy agency that they would otherwise not have. Cervical collars to stabilize a patient’s spinal cord following a head or neck injury, latex gloves that protect the ambulance attendants from blood-borne diseases and a Lifepak monitor to provide crucial patient data are now available to volunteer responders.

Thanks to your generous donations ProJecto has operated an extensive medical outreach program in Moca, the agricultural center on the north side of the Dominican Republic. Hogar de Ancianos Maria Auxiliadora, a 45-bed nursing facility was supplied with food, clothing, adult diapers, gauze and bandages. The Centro Niños que Sonrien (Smile of a Child Center) has been given medical supplies and toys for children who are awaiting cleft lip surgery. We assisted several polyclinics (In Spanish, policlinicos, which provide outpatient care to ambulatory patients) with first aid boxes and general medical supplies. Oxygen supplies such as tanks and breathing masks were donated to Dr. Toribio Benscosme Hospital, the largest medical facility in Moca.