When I was 13 years old, I dreamed of a world where diseases did not exist and nobody died from lack of medical attention. When I woke up, I realized that the dream could become true.
When the Haitian earthquake struck in 2010, I was 14 years old. The island of Hispaniola*6 was completely devastated, with the southern area in a particularly dire situation due to the lack of medical resources.
I immediately took action. I shared my idea with my father and we co-founded FUMEBO, a non-profit medical organization dedicated to providing health resources to underprivileged rural communities in the Dominican Republic. It was not an easy road. We were fortunate to be one of the first to gain the cooperation of one of the largest hospitals in the country through my father’s connections, but the foundation’s lack of notoriety meant that we struggled to build relationships with other hospitals. We started by creating a website and logo for the foundation, and I learned how to do this by volunteering at other NGOs’ activities.
Through hard work, we partnered with the UN Development Program Dominican Republic office and they helped us align our professional goals with the SDGs. In the last nine years, we have connected over 70,000 patients with quality access to primary healthcare facilities, medicines, and vaccines.
Today at 24 years old, I am still dreaming. I have a dream where I envision that FUMEBO will provide quality healthcare and nutrition to all the inhabitants dwelling in the southern Dominican Republic, which is more than 60% of the total population of the country. Nevertheless, as a healthcare provider and social entrepreneur, my ultimate goal is to provide equitable and sustainable primary health care to all regions of the Dominican Republic, and then to the neighboring country of Haiti. I believe that we can eradicate poverty and economic inequality only once we have achieved a world where education is universally accessible, health is always available, illness is the exception, children are spared of hereditary diseases, and no disease will ever be a death sentence. Of course, even if that world is realized, it does not mean I will stop moving forward. My desire to help solve the many problems that exist in the world will never change.
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