International

We provide needed medical resources to meet the needs of people in Honduras, Haiti and Guyana. Coordinating with the governments and local organizations of these countries is paramount in providing care to the poor. Our efforts focus on urban villages and communities that lack health infrastructure and where people have no other heath care resources. Throughout the summer months medical clinics staffed with a variety of heath care providers travel to Honduras with our Torch teams and provide badly needed medicines, vitamins and medical support. As many as 700 people can be treated during a single day. Many times the areas are remote and have little or no access to care otherwise. A clinic is under construction in the town of Santa Ana and will be opening in 2006. It will provide free health care and medications to all the people it serves. Many of the health issues faced in 3rd world countries are related to the contaminated water supply. 100 water filters were placed in homes built last summer in an effort to decrease the illnesses caused by the water. A new well is now providing clean water to a children’s home, health clinic, and a poor community. We plan to place more wells in the poor communities in the future in an effort to combat this difficult problem. Containers full of medical supplies are sent quarterly to supply the state run hospitals in Honduras. Over 10 million dollars of medicines and supplies have been sent in the last 2 years through donations from here in the States. Our goal is to provide health care and access to health care to as many people as possible.

United States

Hurricane Katrina was devastating, leaving many homeless people to fend for themselves in shelters. Most of the shelters were placed in school gymnasiums and there were as many as 700 people living in cots for 3 weeks following the storm. IRC coordinated medical teams that cared for the evacuees of 7 shelters during this time. People left their homes during the crisis without medications and had no place to obtain them or any way to communicate their needs to the outside world. Theses medications were provided through the generous donations of pharmaceutical companies and mission groups dedicated to helping people in need. Tetanus and Hepatitis shots were provided for East New Orleans Police, the National Guard, local fire departments, ATF officers and local people at risk during the clean up process. Health care providers went to the people and cared for them on a daily basis until structure was restored to the people in need.