Distressed Children & Infants International

Distressed Children & Infants International (DCI)
Founded May 24, 2003
Founder Dr. Ehsan Hoque
Dr. Brian Debroff
Type NGO
Location
Area served
 Bangladesh, India, Nepal
Mission To defend child rights and provide for the basic needs of distressed children, giving them opportunities for education, healthcare and future economic possibilities
Website DCI official site

Distressed Children & Infants International (DCI) is a non-profit organization based in Cheshire, Connecticut.[1] DCI's flagship program is the "Sun Child Sponsorship" (SCSP) program, which currently supports over 1100 children in Bangladesh. The organization also sponsors other programs through their Blindness Prevention Program, Health for the Underprivileged Program, Orphan Support Program, and Disaster Relief Program.[2]

History

Founded in 2003 by current Executive Director Dr. Ehsan Hoque and President Dr. Brian DeBroff of the Yale School of Medicine.[3][4] , DCI's mission is to provide children worldwide with an education, basic needs, and health care, while educating young Americans about the challenges of poverty-stricken individuals.[5]

DCI held their 2nd bi-annual Conference on Child Rights at Yale University on October 17, 2009.[6]

The 3rd bi-annual Conference on Child Rights and Sight was held at Yale University on September 10, 2011 [7]

Programs

Sun Child Sponsorship Program

In January 2006, DCI started its Sun Child Sponsorship Program, which now supports over 1100 children. The Sun Child Sponsorship Program (SCSP) allows individuals or groups to sponsor a child in Bangladesh. The program is designed to give the poorest and most vulnerable children of Bangladesh the opportunity to become independent and productive citizens by reducing school-dropout rates, fighting preventable diseases (such as early childhood blindness, cleft lip, cleft palate, HIV/AIDS), and actively promoting and protecting child rights.[8]

Blindness Prevention Program

DCI launched its Blindness Prevention Program in 2007, with the objective of preventing and treating vision loss among underprivileged populations in Bangladesh & India. The program also provides eyecare to uninsured children in the United States and their families. The program emphasizes preventative measures and education along with vision screening and eye surgery camps. Donors can sponsor an eye screening camp for underprivileged children and the elderly in Bangladesh. So far, 3200 disadvantaged Children and 3822 adults have received free eye care.[9]

Orphan Support Program

DCI has established the Sun Child Home for orphans located in Mohammadpur. At present 19 orphans are residing in the facility with complete support and 330 orphans are receiving healthcare and education support in orphanages all across Bangladesh.[10]

Health for Underprivileged Program

In 2008, DCI began their Health for Underprivileged program with the objective of providing affordable healthcare to the residents of Dhaka. So far, 17,500 Dhaka City slum residents have received preventive healthcare support from DCI's health workers, and 3165 patients have received treatment at their health clinics.[11]

Child Rights Awareness Campaign

DCI holds their bi-annual Conference for Rights and Sight at Yale University to raise awareness on child rights, including child labor and diseases that affect vision. The event gathers world-class speakers and leaders to address these issues and discuss solutions.[12] Past speakers include DCI Goodwill Ambassador and Bangladeshi actress Babita Akhtar

Financial Accountability

According to DCI, 90% of its funds go to program services (childcare, orphan support, blindness prevention, etc.), 7% goes to fundraising, and 3% goes to management and administration.[13]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.tenaganita.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=169&Itemid=61
  2. ↑ http://www.voanews.com/bangla/archive/2008-05/2008-05-04-voa4.cfm?CFID=299807226&CFTOKEN=98869086&jsessionid=003053c912ec76acb950414c295949c59137
  3. ↑ http://www.livewithlisaradio.com/index.cfm?page=guest_det&id=136&firstname=Mike%20Regan%20and&lastname=Dr.%20Eshan%20Hoque
  4. ↑ http://www.voanews.com/bangla/archive/2006-09/2006-09-19-voa1.cfm?moddate=2006-09-19
  5. ↑ http://www.pnnonline.org/print.php?sid=8087
  6. ↑ http://ecubedcc.org/concert.html
  7. ↑ http://www.distressedchildren.org/index.php?page_id=2220
  8. ↑ http://www.distressedchildren.org/index.php?page_id=1583
  9. ↑ http://www.distressedchildren.org/index.php?page_id=1585
  10. ↑ http://www.distressedchildren.org/index.php?page_id=1589
  11. ↑ http://www.distressedchildren.org/index.php?page_id=1587
  12. ↑ http://www.distressedchildren.org/index.php?page_id=1585
  13. ↑ http://www.distressedchildren.org/index.php?page_id=1562

External links

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