Chairman’s Message
In 1990, I was attending a meeting with Consulate General of Jamaica (New York) Mr. Derrick Heaven and then, Minister of Health for Jamaica Honorable Easton Douglas at the Jamaican Consulate in New York City when the dire need for OID was identified. At that meeting, we were discussing ways to enhance the public health systems in Jamaica, W.I. As Jamaicans who deeply love our homeland, we thought more could be done, and had to be done, to facilitate the delivery of affordable, equitable, accessible and quality healthcare services to the poor in rural and underserved communities in Jamaica.
After many strategy meetings, myself and seven other dental practioners including my wife Jean, were granted permission by the Jamaican government to travel to Jamaica to provide our services to needy communities. On July 3, 1990, we embarked on our first official voluntary “healthcare” mission to the West Coast of Jamaica. Those formative years were very challenging. Hundreds of people who sought our care showed-up daily at the sites, but, OID lacked the funds and resources to serve all of them. Consequently, our cadre of committed volunteers was thinly stretched. Despite those challenges and the twelve-hour workdays, OID’s volunteers still possessed a heart-felt desire to serve the less fortunate in the spirit of our motto “Helping Others to Help Themselves.”
Today, I am truly humbled by OID’s achievements and growth as a grass-root non-profit organization. Our services have expanded to include medicine, ophthalmology, nursing, physical therapy, counseling on disease prevention, health and science education, engineer support and services, community infrastructure development and services and information technology education. Additionally, we are currently developing a youth mentoring program.
I am extremely thankful for the continuous support of the OID family and its friends who share the simple belief that we all have a moral and social responsibility to take care of our community’s neediest and most vulnerable citizens. A community’s development should be measured by its capital investment in people not merely by economics metrics.
Sincerely,
Roy W. Streete, DDS, MPH
Chairman