According to the Penny Harvest Foundation, over the winter time, these young people carefully study community needs and research capable organizations. And at the end of this transformative process, they select to support causes and funds organizations. “This is the third year the Batey Relief Alliance has been chosen by the students to receive grants. They collect every cent they can find—one penny at a time—with the thought of helping poor children who are infected by HIV/AIDS inside the bateyes of the Dominican Republic,” added Gaillard.

Last fall, New York City students gathered over 60 million pennies—or $600,000—and turned them into thousands of grants to charity organizations like the Batey Relief Alliance. Gaillard shared the opinion of Penny Harvest that these grants represent an opportunity for organizations to join in educating and rallying the next generation of advocates, funders and community leaders.

BRA’s CEO Ulrick Gaillard and Board President Miguel A. Puente H attended the meeting to map out the humanitarian work of the organization through a strategic planning process involving various community, business, private and non-profit groups, including the Indianapolis-based Timmy Foundation. Preceding the meeting, Gaillard gave a lecture on the history and work of his organization in the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

Gaillard acknowledged that the BRA and the HPER recently signed a letter of agreement forming a partnership to work toward building a network of volunteers, faculty and students to conduct research and perform public health and medical services in impoverished areas of the country, specifically in the bateyes in the region of Monte Plata and other underserved areas, such as communities located near the Haitian border.

In mid-June, Professor Zobeida Bonilla, who is leading the program, will travel to the Dominican Republic with seven students and five other faculty members to begin several important aspects of their work with BRA. Bonilla described this as the “beginning of the beginning,” and expects the work to result in long-range multidisciplinary research projects.

“It’s an opportunity for faculty to conduct action-based research,” said Robert M. Goodman, dean of the School of HPER. “Students can get cross-cultural field lab experience while working on significant public health issues related to poverty.”

Clinton told The Miami Herald in a statement, “It is an honor to accept the secretary-general’s invitation to become special envoy to Haiti. Last year’s natural disasters took a great toll, but Haiti’s government and people have the determination and ability to `build back better,’ not just to repair the damage done but to lay the foundations for the long-term sustainable development that has eluded them for so long.” Clinton and U.S. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visited the hurricane ravaged country two months ago to raise attention for Haiti’s rebuilding program following a year of storms. Four back-to-back storms left nearly 800 dead and caused nearly $1 billion in damages, the Herald said.

Clinton’s foundation has been active in Haiti for years, working on issues such as health care, HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, and restoring the environment.

Clinton has been involved with Haiti since his first term as president, when he used the threat of force to pressure military coup leaders into restoring ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

In 2005, President Bill Clinton endorsed the humanitarian work of the Batey Relief Alliance and made an emotional plea asking for disaster relief support for the organization, after Hurricane Jeanne ravaged Haiti killing 4000 people and leaving a path of destruction. Click HERE to view video. The Batey Relief Alliance implements projects that benefit both the populations of Haiti as well as the Dominican Republic.

Several meetings between BRA Dominicana and HPER resulted in the mutual identification of five primary areas of collaboration: 1) technical support, 2) development of human resources, 3) strengthening of capacity, 4) academic exchanges, and 5) research projects. “HPER will also support the BRA in border health-related projects between the Dominican Republic and Haiti,” said Ulrick Gaillard, BRA’s CEO. Dr. Robert M. Goodman, Dean of the HPER added that HPER and the BRA will explore the development of joint research and program-related proposals to seek funding to support the work of the HPER-BRA partnership.

ANSE-A-PITRES, Haiti. – As part of its long-term objective to develop a permanent humanitarian intervention at Haiti’s border communities, the Batey Relief Alliance (BRA) dispatched from April 12th through the 19th a team of American dentists, faculty, students and aides to provide free dental assistance to children and adults in dire need of urgent dental care in Haiti’s border Commune of Anse-a-Pitres. Click HERE to view images.

Anse-a-Pitres is located on the Southeastern tip of the island of Hispaniola across to Pedernales in the Dominican Republic. The Anse-a-Pitres’ population of about 30,000 lives in extreme poverty due to its isolation from much government as well as international economic support. Basic services are virtually absent, including potable water, electricity and healthcare living residents in a complete state of abandonment and vulnerable to diseases.

Dr. Thomas Beague, BRA’s Dental Chief and mission leader confirmed that a total of 414 patients received full treatment and more than 600 teeth were pulled. All patients received anesthesia, pain medication, and antibiotics when necessary. Children from 2-10 also received antiparasitic medicines to rid them of intestinal worms and multivitamins to boost their immune system—an effort sponsored by BRA partner, Vitamin Angel Alliance.

BRA joined forces with two local youth groups—AJPA and DJMM to organize the one-week dental clinic’s logistics. “Our initial efforts focused on a large-scale publicity campaign, which included radio interviews, posters and announcements in churches and community organizations throughout Anse-a-Pitres,” said Ulrick Gaillard, BRA’s CEO. Dr. Beague added, “Our team included four dentists (Dr. Steve Ricco, Dr. Ilha Kim, Dr. Adam Merrian and myself), four dental assistants (Sara Beague, Diana M. Beague, Thomas J. Beague and Kathy Delva) and one mission coordinator (Samuel D. Slavin) who worked tirelessly to serve as many people as we could, even though there were many more in need of treatment that did not get a chance to be seen. But we will come back next spring.”

Gaillard will present about the humanitarian work of his organization in HIV/AIDS and its collaborative effort to educate, prevent and treat the disease inside the Dominican Republic’s most vulnerable sugarcane agricultural communities known as bateyes. “In partnerships with the Dominican’s Ministry of Health, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Clinton’s HIV/AIDS Initiative, the BRA delivers free services in testing, psychological support, healthcare, antiretroviral therapy, nutrition and microcredit loans to hundreds of impoverished batey residents infected and affected by the deadly virus,” said Gaillard. But he also warned that unless adequate resources are available to continue those services, many lives will be at stake and lost.

The lecture is part of the Batey Relief Alliance’s effort to promote and advocate awareness of the needs of the populations it serves, and encourage public participation in its many projects. The Batey Relief Alliance has an established humanitarian aid intervention in the Dominican Republic since 1997 and now expanding into Haiti’s border regions. The organization addresses the socio-economic and health needs of children and their families severely by poverty, disease and hunger in the Caribbean and Latin America.

For more information about this release or to schedule a lecture with Ulrick Gaillard, contact the Batey Relief Alliance at bra@bateyrelief.org.

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In its second-year of funding, the USAID completely financed the food program with annual grants of $272,800 of which, $173,100 goes toward the food commodities and $99,700 for the receipt, rapid transportation, delivery, and distribution of the commodities to the vulnerable populations, including HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis sufferers, pregnant women, the elderly and grandparents caring for orphaned/vulnerable children (OVC). “The International Food Relief Partnership (IFRP) is a USAID Food for Peace Title II Initiative to support the production, stockpiling, transportation, delivery, and distribution of shelf-stable, prepackaged foods by U.S. non-profit and Public International Organizations. And we are glad to partner with the BRA to help the people of the Dominican Republic,” said Ben Vogler, IFRP’s Program Officer.

The food program complements two other BRA programs: the Micronutrient/deworming providing food to 55,000 children taking multivitamins and antiparasitic medicines, and the HIV/AIDS Prevention and Treatment providing food to those who are malnourished and undergoing ARV therapy or taking potent medicines to fight opportunistic diseases. “Proper nutrition has shown to have not only positive physical and psychological results on our patients, but also tremendous economic impacts on their communities,” added Gaillard.

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This is the third year BRA has received the funding through a Legislative Member Item of Assemblywoman Rhoda Jacobs of the 42nd Assembly District. “We know that there are many needs out there. We will focus on health issues of the community in particular, in an effort to combat the drastic effects of HIV/AIDS. Ignorance and silence can be deadly,” said Ulrick Gaillard, BRA’s CEO.

The message of HIV and AIDS is transmitted to the community via radio waves at the Flatbush-based Radio Soleil. “This year, we are happy to also partner with the DIASPORA COMMUNITY SERVICES, a Brooklyn-based grass-roots health-oriented organization to speak about the danger of the virus and prevention,” added Gaillard. After each session, listeners are provided with phone numbers and referrals to receive HIV/AIDS-related materials, testing, condoms or treatment. “I am pleased to have the opportunity to join the Batey Relief Alliance in bringing a very important program of information and education to increase the well being and empowerment of our community,” said Jacobs.

The Batey Relief Alliance also implements, in partnership with the Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative and the Dominican Ministry of Health a comprehensive HIV/AIDS prevention and antiretroviral treatment program inside the bateyes of the Dominican Republic.

For more information about the humanitarian health and HIV/AIDS work of the BRA, please visit the organization’s website at www.bateyrelief.org or contact Ulrick Gaillard at (917) 627-5026 or bateyrelief@mindspring.com.

BRA’s CEO, Ulrick Gaillard said, “A team of experts and executives from the U.S-based partner nonprofit, Vitamin Angel Alliance will travel from the 6-11 to Dominican provinces of Barahona and Pedernales identifying children who are at great risk of malnutrition and provide them with multivitamins, food and antiparasitic medicines.” Gaillard added that the food distribution is part of a USAID-BRA collaboration to distribute annually 75 MT tons of dehydrated food commodities to children and their families severely affected by poverty, disease and hunger in Dominican Republic’s most vulnerable communities.

Meanwhile from the 10-24, BRA will bring to Haiti’s commune of Anse-a-Pitres a team of foreign dentists, faculty and assistants to deliver, collaboratively, with local Haitian doctors and nurses free dental and medical care to local residents, and multivitamins and antiparasitic medicines to school-aged children (2-12). “These activities are first steps we are taking to gradually establish with local and foreign partners a permanent humanitarian intervention at the border to address the health and socio-economic needs of the populations,” concluded Gaillard.