Project appreciates its support from RIU
There’s no shortage of Jamaican children whose ambulatory ability has been given a huge boost by the Negril Paediatric Orthotic Clinic. And the clinic in turn says it’s been able to provide those youngsters with much — appreciated assistance in dealing with medical leg issues that would have severely hampered their mobility later in life because of a helping hand from Riu Hotels and Resorts.
The clinic — staffed entirely by volunteers except for one person who receives a stipend — has for years been working with Jamaican children from throughout the country who are referred to it by Jamaican doctors. The clinic also hosts North American medical personnel who outfit the children with needed medical braces.
Kentucky doctor Gabriel Beversluis — a specialist in pediatric bracing who with his nurse wife Jodi volunteers at the clinic — says there’s no one size fits all when it comes to braces, with different children needing different ones.
Braces tend to be expensive, with new ones possibly costing US$1,000 or more, a significant financial hardship for many of the families whose children visit the clinic, and Beversluis reports that those involved with it invite North American parents who have children who outgrew their braces to donate them to clinic staffers, who then bring them to Negril. Clinic shelves are covered with donated braces.
“Our aim is to make them (children) as mobile as possible,” Beversluis says. “We see really dramatic improvements here.”
The clinic says its work not only improves the children’s mobility but will foster their independence and lessen pain linked to lower limb disabilities, adding that children who don’t receive that type of treatment can face a lifetime of hardship.
Clinic volunteer Elaine Allen-Bradley says she and her colleagues are grateful for RIU’s support, with RIU — which has seven Jamaican resorts — paying clinic rent and providing free hotel rooms to North Americans volunteering at the facility. “If RIU pulled out, this clinic would not exist,” Allen-Bradley flatly states, adding that the project has likely helped a large number of children in her homeland. “There’s no cost at all (for families who bring their children). They just have to get here,” says Allen-Bradley, an energetic 78-year-old who spent 40 years nursing in England before returning to Jamaica.
RIU spokesman Jorge Satorre in turn says RIU is happy to assist. “We are incredibly proud of this project,” he says.
RIU is somewhat low-key about its involvement, with Albert Puig Pascual of the company’s communications department noting that clinic visitors won’t see the RIU logo anywhere.
Meanwhile, Jodi Beversluis says her and her husband’s volunteer work has brought its own rewards. “We really like it here. For us this is like our second home,” she says of the clinic and surrounding community.
