16 January, 2014
LIMA, Peru. – From January 19 through 25, 2014, the Batey Relief Alliance (BRA) will facilitate a dental operative in Lima, Peru. The President of the organization’s Board of Directors, Dr. Thomas Beague, a licensed dentist, will lead a dental mission team from the United States that will provide free dental care, including oral examinations, cleanings, and tooth extractions; conduct oral hygiene education; and donate toothbrushes, flosses and tooth pastes to an anticipated 240 to 300 patients living in Lima’s most impoverished slums. Additionally, the team will assess dental needs in the district, which will allow BRA to develop a more appropriate and comprehensive health intervention in the country.
“This dental mission will coincide with the launch of BRA’s Clinton Global Initiative Commitment—Improving Malnutrition and Maternal Health in Lima,” said Dr. Beague. Ulrick Gaillard, BRA’s CEO added that with the mission and the launch of BRA’s newest program in Peru, his organization will establish a permanent presence in the region; continue strengthening ties with local organizations and the Peruvian government; and initiate its long-term commitment to improve the quality of life of the Peruvian people.
Batey Relief Alliance (BRA) endeavors to improve the quality of life of the most vulnerable and marginalized populations living in the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Peru. A major focus of the organization’s humanitarian work is to provide sustainable health services and essential medicines, in order to improve the condition of public health of those affected by extreme poverty, disease and hunger.
Since its inception in 1997, BRA also recognized the importance of conducting medical missions trips to complement its permanent health intervention, through which hundreds of volunteer medical students, faculty and providers alike are recruited annually to travel overseas to conduct research; and deliver medical, dental and optometry care in Haiti’s border communities and Dominican Republic’s urban slums and rural communities, including the sugarcane plantations labor enclaves known as “bateyes”.
