NEW YORK. – At the annual board of directors’ meeting of the Batey Relief Alliance (BRA) held on June 27th, Dr. Thomas Peter Beague was voted unanimously by the seven-member body as the organization’s new President. He will occupy the position for two years from 2010 through 2012. “I am truly honored to be part of this great organization and chosen for this important post,” said Dr. Beague.

Dr. Thomas Peter Beague was born on April 27th, 1963 in Brooklyn, New York. He moved to Cambria Heights in 1969 and now resides in Old Westbury. His father, Thomas, is a retired electrical engineer born in Les Cayes, Haiti. His mother, Jeanne, is a retired beautician born in Martinique, West Indies. Dr. Beague has been happily married to his wife Sara since 1991, and has since had two lovely children, Thomas and Diana.

Dr. Beague is a graduate of Brooklyn Technical High School. He received a B.S. in Electrical Engineer from Polytechnic University in Brooklyn, an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY, and his Doctorate in Medical Dentistry from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.

Currently, Dr. Beague is owner of a 16-year dental practice in Elmont. He enjoys the privilege of teaching at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, as well as devoting much of his time volunteering to help needy children and adults receive proper dental care around the world. He and his wife are founding members of the Batey Relief Alliance’s Board and have been involved in medical and dental missions with the organization since 1998. “I cannot think of a greater humanitarian and a more caring and dependable person other than my friend Tom to head the organization,” said Ulrick Gaillard, BRA’s founder/CEO.

The Batey Relief Alliance was founded in 1997 as a humanitarian aid organization to address the difficult socio-economic and health needs of children and their families severely affected by poverty, disease, and hunger in the Caribbean. Each year, BRA mobilizes millions of dollars to implement projects in agriculture, women’s empowerment and microcredit, nutrition, health and HIV/AIDS, and education. Annually, more than 100,000 people from the Dominican Republic and Haiti benefit from BRA’s humanitarian work.

PIANTINI, Santo Domingo, D.R. – The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) donated $2 million to the Batey Relief Alliance (BRA) to improve agricultural training, production and marketing, and planning more profitable crops inside Dominican Republic’s agricultural batey communities.

BRA’s international assistance grant falls under the USDA’s Food for Progress Program and supports agricultural and rural development, while helping to address food shortages.

The project is being implemented by Batey Relief Alliance’s Dominican-based field organization BRA Dominicana, in partnerships with various key government entities, including the State Sugar Council, Dominican Agrarian Institute, Monte Plata Office of Senatorial Management and the Department of Agriculture.

“The two-year project has the capacity to create food security and economic self-sufficiency for 35,000 people living in extreme poverty inside seven batey communities in the province of Monte Plata,” said Ulrick Gaillard, BRA’s CEO. Gaillard also added that more than 700 farmers are now working 1,500 acres of fertile land and developing their community infrastructures for long-term agricultural and economic development and growth.

As part of other project benchmarks, BRA established an Agricultural Cooperative to teach 7,000 participating farmers/members how to manage and sell more profitable crops, create sustainable business plans, and apply for loans and credits and reach more consumers. “In light of the current global economic crisis affecting millions around the world, especially in poor countries, the USDA grant is timely as it responds directly to the dire economic conditions facing thousands languishing in these vulnerable agricultural batey regions,” concluded Gaillard.

USDA’s Food for Progress Program provides U.S. agricultural commodities to developing countries and emerging democracies committed to introducing and expanding free enterprise in the agricultural sector. Commodities are provided on a donation basis to foreign governments, private voluntary organizations, non-profit organizations, cooperatives or intergovernmental organizations. Projects are chosen based on their agricultural focus, the country’s needs, and organization’s management, experience and financial and technical capabilities.