We thank you for another year of loyal support. International Health Emissaries has wonderful donors and volunteers helping us sustain our mission of providing dental health care and education to people far less fortunate than ourselves. As you know, it is our policy that IHE teams will only travel to very isolated places that have NO dental care available for the poor. We also offer our volunteers the possibility to become goodwill ambassadors by representing their country and to give them the opportunity to experience the joy of improving the quality of someone else’s life.
During the Covid pandemic, we had to cancel all of our dental missions in 2020 and 2021. In 2022, we were once again able to send teams of volunteers to provide dental health care to people much less fortunate than ourselves. Our first team went to Belize in October and our second to Guatemala in November. In 2023 we were able to send teams to Peru in May and Belize in September, but had to cancel the trip to Guatemala in November due to civil unrest on the road to the jungle.
In 2024 we have planned three missions to treat patients. In addition to the team that just returned from Peru in May, a team is going to Ecuador in August, and another to Guatemala in November.
IHE’s Board of Directors will host our annual Fiesta for our donors and volunteers:
2:00 PM, Sunday, September 1, 2024
Jack & Tina Faia’s home
8 Sommerset Rise, Monterey
We will have a signup sheet for future dental missions in 2025 – 2026. Missions are normally filled over one year in advance. The Fiesta gives participants of previous missions a chance to share their experiences with you and each other. There will be videos, slide shows, and plenty of great food and beverages. It is always a wonderful party full of generous and adventurous people. We hope that you can join us. If you are unable to attend the Fiesta, but would like to participate in one of our dental missions contact Jack via email: fai32@comcast.net
Thank you,
John Faia
International Health Emissaries
Mission Statement
The first goal of International Health Emissaries (IHE), a private non-profit non-government organization(NGO), is to provide medical and dental care at no cost to indigent people throughout the world who otherwise would not have access to such health services. IHE also works closely with local health care providers and rural schools to support their local programs and to provide public health education.
The second goal of IHE is to provide an opportunity for American volunteers to positively and effectively represent the United States of America. Our volunteers are emissaries when providing these services and gain a special appreciation of the foreign country visited as well as an appreciation of our own country. We give our volunteers the opportunity to make lasting relationships with people throughout the world.
