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Salybia Mission Project is the embodiment of a shared vision to enhance the quality of life of the Dominican indigenous peoples by improving their access to health care services. We will draw on pre-existing community supports to serve as the foundation for establishing a viable, self-sustaining, long-term network of health related services and resources.
In order to achieve these goals, Salybia Mission Project is adopting a two-pronged approach. Its first focus is to improve the physical setting in which care is provided by establishing a steady stream of medical supplies and equipment. The majority of these supplies will be solicited from national and international donors. Furnishing the clinic with the most primary diagnostic tools will not only aid the staff in delivering a higher quality of care, it also ensures that the community can obtain services that would otherwise require lengthy travel to an urban centre. As part of this focus we also hope to implement and run community health fairs in the territory. These will serve as forums for such things as screening and immunization clinics; programs that could act as effective vehicles to reach all members of the community, not just those who visit the clinic.
Recognizing that health extends beyond medical treatment, the second approach is that of health education. Working with and within existing social structures, we will create workshops and information sessions on topics that the community identifies as important health issues. With these, we hope to illustrate that preventative measures and lifestyle choices are just as important to health as prescription drugs and institutionalised care.
Some additional goals include:
> Creating a database system that outlines a patient's history and ongoing treatment, thereby providing a continuity of care
> Provide the education and training of community members so as to establish a primary response group who are skilled to respond to emergencies until professional help arrives
> Monitoring the health of the community by implementing screening programs and portable testing facilities throughout the territory
> Draw on pre-existing international foundations (e.g. World Health Organization, StopTB) to help provide the medical resources needed to establish a basic level of health that reflects international standards
It is through this two-pronged approach that Salybia Mission Project hopes to help the Caribs reclaim ownership of their individual and communal health. We firmly believe that with the aid of the community and our supporters, we can collectively realize the vision of enhancing the level of and accessibility of health so that it is no longer a privilege, but an entitlement from which all should benefit.
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