50 Years of BMI

Over the past 50 years Benevolent Missions International (BMI) has provided ophthalmic care to persons who live where they cannot access the care or cannot afford it. This 501(c).3 organization was formally chartered in 1992, but chronologically it dates to 1974 when Dr. Downey Price made the first trip to Haiti. That is fifty years of sending volunteer teams, professional and lay individuals, into mission fields all over the world; fifty years of building and equipping facilities where ophthalmic services could be delivered; fifty years of teaching and enabling health care providers to serve their unique communities and become self-sufficient.

If you have been part of that experience, we want to thank you very much for your contributions which have transformed the lives of thousands of people.

BMI’s global presence spans from Leogane to Cap Hatien, Haiti – we’ve been in Corozal, Belize for almost three decades – we’ve worked high in the Andes at Mallco Rancho, Bolivia – we’ve built surgical and clinic facilities in the tropics of Santa Ana, El Salvador – we traveled the South Pacific to work from Viseisei Village to Sigatoka, Fiji, and then on to American Samoa – we had just begun in Costa Rica and Burundi, Africa when unforeseen circumstances kept our work from continuing – and BMI has sent our teams into many little villages at each location!

Today the mission of BMI is experienced in Belize and Fiji. Wherever BMI has left a footprint, we have gone there by invitation and through partnership with local organizations, we have worked with the permission of the respective country’s Ministry of Health, and BMI has provided accountability of reports, records, and post-operative care once we depart.

The on-going success of BMI – for 50 years now – grows out of collaborations that are people-centered and honor the values of sacrifice, compassion, and kindness. Equally important, BMI has been successful because people all over the world have participated in its mission, forged lasting friendships, seen its good works, have remarkable stories to tell, and believe in what BMI continues to do.

Your unceasing support empowers the mission of BMI, and there are two vital ways you can do that. You could volunteer as a medical professional or lay participant for a future mission trip. Or you could give a tax-deductible contribution, which will assist in sending teams to Fiji or Belize. Please consider one or both ways of sharing and honoring BMI’s work over the past fifty years. Contributions can be sent to our mailing address, and inquiries for a mission team can be made through our website.