Garifuna communities in Honduras are protesting an October 6th Honduran military police invasion of the only indigenous-directed hospital in the country, located in remote Ciriboya. According to eyewitnesses, 15 armed military police broke into the hospital in the early morning hours, later claiming they were searching for illegal drugs. No one was injured in the raid, which was timed during a hospital shift change.
The hospital, staffed by Garifuna doctors recently graduated from Cuba’s Latin American Medical School (ELAM), along with Cuban doctors, has treated over 300,000 cases since its inauguration in December 2007. “We are not just providing health care to a forgotten people,” said Dr. Luther Castillo, an ELAM graduate who has led the project and community construction of its building. “We are creating a new model of free health care, an example for other poor regions in Latin America.” Read More »
You can read about our first important project, helping the Garifuna people on the Caribbean coastal region of South America, on our projects page. Their story is an extraordinary tale of survival, adaptation and endurance spanning two continents and 350 years, and they need our help to ensure that they can remain on the land which they've inhabited for hundreds of years.
In order for us to continue our important work, we need your donations today. Click here to donate using our secure online system from PayPal, and we will put your valuable contribution work helping these indigenous people get the basic services they deserve.