What is Batey Relief Alliance

Batey Relief Alliance

A Foundation For the Betterment of Haitian Migrant Farm Workers

In the Dominican Republic

For the past decades, thousands of economically-desperate Haitian men have been crossing the Dominican Republic's border in search of employment opportunities. Once inside the country, they work long hours mainly as sugar cane cutters (Braceros).

Because of low-paid wages, and inadequate living infrastructures, however, the workers and their families are forced to live under sub-basic conditions plagued by extreme poverty, diseases, and lack of basic medical care.

Their predicament is often characterized by their financial inability to buy medicines - the segregation of their communities making basic care inaccessible from medical facilities located outside their habitat parameters.

In bateyes that are in greatest needs, we plan to build food canteens to ensure a healthier diet for the workers and their children; create a tutoring program capable of teaching adult literacy, and technical skills; help the children become healthy and productive through the BRA Child Sponsorship Program; and continue to distribute commodities. Part of our mission also includes the building of a medical center. The center will be equipped with general medicine, dentistry, optometry, ophthalmology, gynecology, and pediatric care facilities. Our ultimate goal is to provide medical care that is free, permanent, continuous, and accessible.

Dr. Mira Uzwyshyn examining patients during the 1998 Batey mission.

In an effort to alleviate their hardship, Batey Relief Alliance (BRA) has been founded as a non-for-profit, non-political, philanthropic organization, in the United States (US), with the charitable mission of assisting and organizing the financially-destitute workers. BRA's long-term objective is to create a productive environment of a type which can foster self-reliance.

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