You’re probably familiar with at least one “sponsor a child” program, if not several. These types of programs and organizations identify children in impoverished areas worldwide and connect them to sponsors. Usually through a monthly donation, sponsors provide resources for schooling, clothes, medical care, housing, and more. 

Programs of this kind can give a child a chance to rise out of poverty by giving them access to education and healthcare. Every child helped matters.

Humanity’s Friend is seeking to apply this model in a new way. Through a similar kind of program, we’re asking clinics and doctors' offices to consider sponsoring a doctor on the island of Roatan, Honduras. 

Humanity’s Friend is currently partnering with local missionaries and state-side donors to open a medical clinic on the East side of the island of Roatan–an area marked by poverty and illness. Many diseases are left undiagnosed due to the lack of diagnostics on the East end of the island and the expense of transportation to get to a clinic farther away. Many other diseases are left untreated due to a lack of staff and resources at the existing clinics and hospitals. 

When doctors can work, people can get the care that they need

What if this kind of sponsorship program could solve these issues and help to make quality medical care available to the most impoverished areas in Roatan? 

We have two local doctors ready to work when the clinic opens in February and are actively looking for more. For about $2,000 a month, a sponsor clinic or office can provide for one doctor’s salary as well as some basic supplies. It doesn’t sound like much compared to American salaries. But $2,000 a month would be the high end of what educated, trained medical professionals make in Honduras. So, in addition to giving people access to quality healthcare, this sponsorship will also provide a true living wage for a family on the island. 

The impact of this sponsorship will be felt far beyond each doctor and their families. By ensuring that doctors have a regular, reliable income, they can show up to work consistently–ready to meet the physical needs of people who previously lacked access to quality care. This sponsorship will help remove barriers that keep doctors from working a regular schedule. And when doctors can work, people can get the care that they need. Treatable diseases can be diagnosed early and treatment plans put in place. Every doctor makes a difference. Real change can happen and ripple through a community.

Our hope in the future is to expand this program to other clinics and public hospitals on the island and eventually to other areas. 

If you are a medical professional interested in helping a community through doctor sponsorships, reach out to Humanity’s Friend today.