DVIDS – News – Impact Company powers healthcare with medical supplies delivery

Soldiers from Impact Company, 2nd Battalion, 328th Forward Support Company, 112th Infantry Regiment, 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, Pennsylvania National Guard, 112th Infantry Regiment, 328th Forward Support Company, 2nd Battalion, Djibouti, April 7, 2024, Djibouti, Djibouti. Delivering medical equipment to Adventist Health Center.

Supplies were obtained by the East African Civil Affairs Bureau and delivered by a platoon from Impact Company led by Lieutenant Kayden Livingston.

Dr. Carlos Prado and his family welcomed the soldiers and supplies with open arms. Dr. Carlos Prado, a dentist from Brazil, learned of an opportunity to establish a new clinic from the Seventh-day Adventist Church in São Paulo.

Carlos and his wife Idilys decided to close their dental clinic in the São Paulo town of Engenheiro Coelho and move to Djibouti in March 2022 to oversee DAHC.

“When I first arrived, I was very excited to get to work right away, but the clinic situation did not allow me to do so,” Dr. Prado said.

The clinic was damaged by two floods in 1995 and was left in disrepair. With the help of various non-governmental organizations and several private donors, the new clinic was rebuilt and completed on March 3, 2024.

The medical equipment donated by the American NGO Sea International included stainless steel desks, drawers and tables, as well as an ultrasound machine that greatly increases the level of care that can be provided.

“The new, high-quality machines will allow us to provide the same quality of care that we have at home in the United States and Brazil,” Prado said.

Mrs. Prado, who will oversee the clinic's operations, hopes to expand by adding a second dentist, two optometrists and classes to teach local Djibouti residents health care, nutrition, reading and English.

“We truly appreciate and appreciate the efforts of the U.S. military to do everything they can to help the Djibouti Adventist Health Center. Our aim is to provide a better quality of life for the Djibouti community through the care we provide.”

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