International Trends and Services
The International Trends and Services (ITS) facet provides services and delivers transformational programs to people of African ancestry globally so that they may have a better quality of life. Programs are designed and developed to service educational, health and cultural needs and to help people emerge from poverty. A primary objective of our international work is to enrich the lives of women and their families. In our community our the SBVC Links International Diaper Program has received national recognition.
SBVC International Diaper Program
Signature Program:
As a rule, mothers in undeveloped countries do not diaper their babies. This practice stems from lack of resources, health acuity and cultural influences. Consequentially, bacteria is transferred from one family member to another handling the undiapered child; providing a breeding ground for bacterial pathogens and opportunistic infections.
Global health care officials ranked Mortality Rates for some African countries as high as 42.15 as compared to US ranking of 5.90. To combat harmful effects of fecal-oral transmission San Bernardino Valley Chapter ITS developed a simple tool: converting recycled t-shirts into t-shirt diapers! Along with t-shirt diapers an educational program designed to highlight the “why” of t-shirt diaper use was developed. The educational program component stressed not only the necessity of diapering babies but proper care of the t-shirt diapers to extend t-shirt diaper sustainability. To date more than 100,000 t-shirt diapers have been fabricated and transported to Africa, Haiti and Cuba.
Award Winning Program:
∙ Honorable Mention Table clinic Regional Meeting (WA. 2009)
∙ Second Place Program winner (WA. 2015)
∙ Second Place Program Winner (WA. 2018)
Image Gallery
The International Trends and Services facet provides services and delivers transformational programs to people of African ancestry globally so that they may have a better quality of life. Programs are designed and developed to service educational, health and cultural needs and to help people emerge from poverty. A primary objective of our international work is to enrich the lives of women and their families.
Our “boots on the ground” approach provides for more personalized methods for assisting and improving the lives of women, children and men worldwide through long-term programs committed to empowerment and public policy leadership in advocating for social justice.
Since the International Trends and Services Facet was formed in 1970, The Links, Incorporated has demonstrated its commitment to enriching and sustaining the cultural and economic survival of people of African ancestry, through friendship and service. The Links have:
- Adopted schools in South Africa, Liberia, Ghana and Jamaica
- Built The Links Maternal Waiting Homes in Liberia
- Provided MaamaKits in Liberia and Uganda in partnership with the World Health Organization
- Partnered with Colgate Bright Smiles, Bright Futures and performed several thousand dental exams over three years at three primary schools in Jamaica
- Helped train 4th-6th grade students in CPR
- Donated nearly 1,000 books to Links Friendship Library and for students to take home
- Donated nearly 200 Amazon Kindles in Jamaica
- Donated a Links Computer Lab
- Donated an Ultrasound Machine to Falmouth Public Hospital in Jamaica
- Dug wells in Haiti
- Assisted in building homes for Haitian refugees at the San Diego, California border
- Provided hospital equipment, dental and medical care in Ghana and Haiti