Magalie is a community health worker for the Fundación Buen Samaritano Hospital, located in La Romana in the Dominican Republic.
The Buen Samaritano Hospital’s Social Work Department maintains an extensive program to support the ongoing health of residents of the 126 bateyes surrounding La Romana. A batey is a village constructed on sugar cane plantations to house the families of the Haitian immigrants who do the difficult work of harvesting sugar cane in the surrounding fields. These families are provided little support apart from the structures they live in and a small school house, with no provision made for healthcare. Buen Samaritano Hospital’s outreach is organized to provide at least semi-regular visits from doctors and referrals to outside facilities for more serious conditions, and to educate residents on healthy behavior.
Magalie travels to a different batey every day to provide lessons on lifestyle choices to prevent diabetes and hypertension so the residents learn how to identify, seek treatment, and manage these conditions. She works with trusted community members to ensure that when she is gone, the residents keep up their prevention and treatment. She consults 600-700 people every week. As a Haitian herself, Magalie is passionate about ensuring a healthy life for her fellow immigrants living in the Dominican Republic. And now her 6-year-old daughter wants to grow up to be a doctor!
Thanks to Magalie, these isolated farm communities are receiving health education they can use for the rest of their lives.
Thank you, Magalie!
