Joseph Cunningham, Gleaner Writer"IF YOU give a man a fish, you will feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish, and he will feed himself for a
lifetime."
This familiar adage inspired the name FISH Foundation for International Self Help.
It is a non-profit health facility, meeting the health care needs of Jamaicans of all walks of life, says Caroll Fofanah, administrator.
FISH is a network of health care providers and volunteers working to provide the highest quality patient care at the lowest possible costs. Its vast resource team includes doctors, nurses, pharmacists, clinical laboratories, other support professionals and administrative staff.
"Many Jamaicans cannot afford medical care, so we offer sound dental, eye, prenatal, pharmaceutical services and general health care, explained Mrs. Fofanah.
Professor Louis Strathmore Grant, formerly of the Department of Microbiology, U.W.I., was the man who founded FISH in 1981.
CHEAP PRICES
He founded the 'cost-saving health-care partnership' for schools and companies, where groups of students and employees received routine medical check-ups at cheap prices.
David Wilson, chief executive officer, explained that a prime example of the clinic serving low-income earners is the amount of pensioners who use the
services of the clinic. "Here they can afford it, because when you come to FISH you get a complete medical check." FISH also offers free health clinics.
SPIRIT OF VOLUNTEERISM
The clinic at 19 Gordon Town Road, is the only one of its kind in the Caribbean, containing its own lens lab.
"This is only possible, because at the heart of the organisation is the spirit of volunteerism," said Mrs. Fofanah. 'Friends of Fish', a volunteer group, supports the clinic through fund-raising efforts and donations of medical supplies and equipment. Friends of Fish are primarily from the United Kingdom, United States and Canada, and they come to Jamaica annually to carry out field clinics. Beverly Sutherland-Lewis, a medical doctor and one of the 'Friends', explained that they support the clinic through their relentless approach to fund-raising. Resulting from fund-raising initiatives like the 'thrift shop' (a shop that sells used clothing, FISH affords charities like the 'Patient Aid Fund' for senior citizens.
COLLABORATION
FISH's outreach programmes also operate in collaboration with the Caribbean Council for the blind, giving counselling to persons recently blind.
In keeping with its mandate, FISH applied to the CHASE fund for donations to facilitate screenings (eye tests) in prep and primary schools throughout the island, and received $22 million.
According to Mrs. Fofanah, this project was undertaken based on a trend observed by Prof. Murcheson Calender, optometrist, University of Waterloo, Canada, and a FISH volunteer. She said that his research revealed that a high percentage of Jamaica's children aged six-11 are visually impaired. Moreover, Professor. Murcheson argued, " Parents accuse their children of being rude. But children cannot focus if they cannot see clearly."
At the end of screenings, children selected will receive free prescription lens and other treatment where necessary.
To contribute to the general
operation of the clinic contact:
927-1106 or 977-3897-8
