By providing education, training, and tools in resource management and preventive health education, Kairos Moment is able to help communities and families rise up out of poverty through long-term development, rather than just recurring relief. We initiate self-sustaining programs to enhance the dignity of people created in God’s image, encouraging them to take responsibility for their own futures.
Dr. Diehl along with Dr. Feasel are blessed with the opportunity to work together with Kairos Moment in their mission. Dr. Diehl joined the mission in 2013 and has traveled to the Dominical Republic with the Kairos Moment team, as well as other medical and dental professionals, a total of five times and counting. The group typically takes trips once a year in late January or early February. We work closely with several churches and an organization called CHE.
The area of focus is called Cienfuegos, which literally translates to “one hundred fires”. Cienfuegos is actually the town dump, just outside the city of Santiago, and is home to hundreds of impoverished people and families. The people who live here have been forgotten, and receive very little to no public or governmental support.
We typically see somewhere between 500-600 patients each year, and roughly 100 of those patients receive Christ as well – that is our ultimate goal. The more people we treat with dentistry and healthcare, the more people we have the chance of leading to Christ.
We also help the organizations we work alongside by introducing them to American companies who are willing to support their cause. Recently, an American luggage and handbag design company, Vera Bradley, partnered with a local safe house, providing sewing machines, training and a building space they can use to make and sell items.
Our long-term goal is to further build and support local physicians and dentists in Santiago, and enable long-term sustainability with these local providers. It is not our goal to be the primary source of support, our goal is to be the spark that initiates growth and self-reliance.
