TOCO HEALTH
TOCO Health is a health initiative that targets both mental and physical health issues in the Caribbean. Programs and campaigns are designed to educate and address the needs of children affected specifically by diabetes and domestic violence. Additionally, TOCO delivers medical supplies to underfunded health facilities.
PROGRAMS
• DIABETES AWARENESS INITIATIVE: TOCO'S diabetes awareness program is designed to inform, educate and create a dialogue about diabetes prevention and treatment. At the core of the program is to educate children about health, nutrition and exercise and how a healthy lifestyle can stop this preventable disease. TOCO also delivers blood glucose meters, test strips, educational and nutritional materials for distribution and encourages people to get tested for diabetes.
• THE TOCO CLOTHESLINE PROJECT: In an effort highlight the link between women and children’s health and domestic violence, TOCO launched The TOCO Clothesline Project. Modeled after The Clothesline Project that originated on Cape Cod, MA in 1990, it serves as a vehicle for women and children affected by domestic violence to express their emotions on a t-shirt. They then hang the shirt on a clothesline to be viewed by others as testimony of their plight. Since 2010, TOCO has partnered with local schools and women's groups in an annual ceremony to hang tshirts on a clothesline in the center of town. TOCO’s goal is to raise awareness about domestic violence in the Caribbean, specifically how domestic violence affects children physically, emotionally and psychologically.
• DONATION OF MEDICAL SUPPLIES TO HAITI: Since its inception, TOCO has been instrumental in orchestrating and organzing the donation of medical supplies to various underserved hospitals and clinics in need in Haiti. Every year, TOCO works with doctors, nurses and other medical personnel to send supplies range from bandages to anesthesia machines.
• PARTNERSHIP WITH HELPAWS IN ST.LUCIA: The purpose serves to help prevent the overpopulation of dogs and cats. By preventing feline and canine reproduction, we reduce the number of unwanted animals being born in an already overpopulated country where many animals face untimely horrific deaths. Through neutering, felines will live a healthier life, as they will have a lower risk of getting uterine and other cancers of the reproductive systems.