In accordance with our vision, Spice Isle Smiles Board of Directors has approved the following challenge for the St. George’s General Hospital in Grenada:

In the nursery, there are no proper, medical grade, recovery chairs for new mothers. Additionally, the cribs/new baby/toddler beds are covered with lead paint. It is proposed that Spice Isle Smiles raise the funds to purchase, ship, and assemble 4-6 new mother chairs, 4-6 toddler beds, and 4-6 baby bassinets.

The manufacturer will sell these items at a charitable discounted rate and will provide free shipping to a shipping agent in Miami, Florida. This agent will waive their fee and will ship each item to Grenada at a flat, discounted rate of $140 per item.

To date, Spice Isle Smiles has raised $12,500 towards our goal of $18,000 for this project.

Dr. Holmes was sharing this project recently with a patient at his office. A few days later he was gratefully surprised to receive a generous donation from this individual to be used for this project. She included the following letter: : “I cannot begin to imagine sitting on a hard chair to nurse my baby after a forceps delivery. I didn’t sit for weeks. My 1950 World Book says Grenada was a poor country, lacking medical care, education, and living conditions. Some things don’t change.” -S.

We’re hoping this project can make a small but meaningful change. All women deserve comfort after birth. Our goal is to purchase and deliver these items by the end of March when a small group of IHC medical volunteers working through Spice Isle Smiles will be providing hands on training to the obstetric nurses at this hospital. Please consider helping us reach our goal to provide comfortable and safe recovery beds for newborns and their mothers.

The New Life Organization (NEWLO) is a skills training center located in Grenada in the West Indies. NEWLO has, for over 30 years, been dedicated to providing quality life and vocational skills training for disadvantaged youth, facilitating growth and development of the individual in relation to the family, the community, and the nation. The trainees range in age from 17 to 24 years.

During our humanitarian visit to Grenada in 2017, Royce Holmes, Microsoft Software Engineer, gave a programming presentation to the IT students at NEWLO. He spent some time with the IT Education Director, Mr. Pierre to determine how to incorporate a programming introduction to the students.

Royce returned to NEWLO in 2019 with 4 LEGO Robotic kits and custom made vinyl driving maps. He had decided to use these robotic kits to teach autonomous driving programming. At the end of the week of teaching, the students, under Royce's guidance, put on a demonstration of the lessons they had learned that week. In attendance were the Administrative staff of NEWLO, students from other disciplines, the Secretary of Education, the Secretary of Aviation, and a national news team. Royce returned to NEWLO in 2020 to continue this programming educational program. Working with Mr. Pierre, Royce's skill set will continue to enhance the IT program of NEWLO.

During our first dental humanitarian trip in 2017 to Grenada’s Bon Aire Government School in the small town of Victoria, we had the opportunity to visit at length with the principal, Mr. Terry Francis. We posed the question, “what else can we do for this school that has welcomed us so warmly?”

He was hesitant, but with a little nudging he reluctantly showed us the bathrooms that the children used during the school day. Most of the fixtures were broken and leaking, leaving 2-3 inches of stagnant, standing water on the floors. The stall doors were missing, and the lights were not functioning. The boys bathroom had a communal urinal that had not had any running water for years. Stepping into the water on the floors stirred up swarms of mosquitoes. Knowing that malaria, Zika, and dengue fever are still prevalent issues in Grenada made this situation very unhealthy and unsafe.

The other pressing issue was the lack of privacy for the girls as the boys walked by the open door to the girls bathroom facilities on the way to their own facilities. We knew something needed to be done. Raising awareness and funds through the Rotary Club of St. George’s Grenada and the Rotary Club of Florence, Oregon, we were able to restore these bathroom facilities the following year.

This project, which was completed in July of 2018, utilized the help of contractors local to this area of Grenada (some had even attended this school in their youth), which brought much needed income to this community. General contractor, Brian Lacouture, traveled from Florence, Oregon to lend his time and expertise to help this project reach completion in a very short time frame. More friendships were born.