Benevolent Missions International (BMI) exists to render ophthalmic medical and surgical care to those, nationally and internationally, who live where such care is normally unavailable and/or those who cannot afford such care when it is available. BMI was incorporated in 1993 to give formal structure to medical missionary work that began with an initial ophthalmology trip to Hopital St. Croix, Legoganne, Haiti in 1974. Downey Price, ophthalmologist made this initial trip and several additional ones to Haiti with family members to clinically and surgically care for the eye diseases and eye glasses needs of the very poor of that country. Dr. Price and his family took all of the equipment, eye glasses, and medications needed for this work with them and treated each patient free of any expense. Over 500 patients were care for on the initial trip and on each succeeding one. Upon their return to the U.S., Dr. Price and his family shared their realization of the extreme needs of the Haitian people with individuals, civic/service organizations, churches and other religions entities. This resulted in abundant offers of services by groups and individuals to staff the work teams, aid in pre-trip preparations, and help finance the purchase of eye glasses, medications and equipment. In 1976, Rev. B.T. Williamson, joined Dr. Price on a Haiti mission trip. At the completion of this trip, the two volunteers began to coordinate their efforts as medical director and project administrator for all of the missions trips since that time. The history of medical missionary work accomplished by Dr. Price and Rev. Williamson prior to the incorporation of BMI, included ophthalmology clinical/surgical trips to Haiti, ophthalmology clinical/surgical trips to Belize, C.A. beginning in 1986, and ophthalmology clinical trips to Bolivia, S.A. beginning in 1986. In all cases, all of the eye glasses, medications and medical supplies, medical equipment, and services were donated completely free of charge to the people served. The formalization of this work in 1992 into organization of BMI and the achievement of a 501 (c)(3) IRS status permitted the necessary vehicle to enable Dr. Price, Rev. Williamson, the ophthalmologists, optometrists, anesthetists, nurse, technicians, and many lay volunteers to make their pro bono services available to an increasing number of men, women and children in need of this care. Since incorporation in 1992, BMI has sent ophthalmology teams to Belize, Bolivia, Burundi, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Fiji. We currently make three trips to Belize every year and one trip to Fiji. BMI has treated over 125,000 patient's in our clinics and more than 30,000 surgery cases. The continual goals of BMI are (1) to directly provide ophthalmic clinical and surgical care to those in need where there either is no such care available or the care is unaffordable, (2) to medically educate the local health care personnel to care for their own people, and (3) to medically equip facilities to make it possible for these people to have at least adequate ophthalmic medical and surgical care.
