Operations
Giving Back With Our Projects
2009
OPERATION GIVE-A-BAG (GAB)
In 2009, the Foundation carried out Operation Give-a-Bag, which provided students in three Maroon villages with backpacks and school supplies. The supplies were acquired in Calgary through fundraising and shipped to Suriname.
2014
OPERATION GIVE-A-PAIR-OF-PANTS (GAPP)
This project’s purpose was to provide students in poor areas of Suriname with jeans and other necessities. Jeans are part of the school uniform and significantly burden the parent’s annual budget. This project was finalized at the end of 2014.
2014
OPERATION CARE-FOR-FAMILY (CFF)
The YEEPI Team has graciously donated their time and efforts to spread the YEEPI mission to improve health outcomes and nutrition to other local charities and individuals, like Inn from the Cold, throughout the holiday season.
2014
OPERATION GYM-IN-A-BOX (GIB)
In 2014, YEEPI Education Foundation of Calgary worked with village authorities and smaller communities in Suriname to provide sports material to foster healthy mental and physical development. These underserved communities do not have access to recreational facilities of any kind.
2016
OPERATION READING-GLASSES (RG)
In 2016, Operation Reading Glasses provided over 2,200 reading and prescription glasses to citizens in December 2016, in partnership with Eudia Cambridge in the Netherlands, the Lions Club Calgary, and Ratan Optometrist in Paramaribo.
Program benefit: The overall benefits of providing one pair of glasses to a citizen could be calculated as follows:
The average price of a frame in Canada is estimated at $250 CDN. Converted into Surinamese Dollars (SRD) is SRD 1,750. The average monthly income is SRD 800. In summary, it would take a citizen to save their entire monthly income for more than two months to afford one pair of glasses.
2018
OPERATION WOMEN'S HYGIENE MATTERS (WHM)
This project was carried out in partnership with Days for Girls™ Canada (Calgary). The goal was to provide hygiene kits to Maroon girls and women living in poverty in Suriname. Through this project, Operation Women Hygiene Matters, we were able to empower, engage and enable these women, by shipping 1,080 kits to Suriname in July 2018. One Days for Girls™ kit lasts for up to 4 years.
Program benefit: This project has tremendous economic benefits. The Days for Girls™ kit lasts for up to four years.
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Has high user acceptance in a variety of settings
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Uses little water
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Dries quickly
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Saves money over disposables
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Comfortable
2021 / 2022 / 2023
OPERATION HEALTH FIRST (OHF)
The conference’s objective was to start initial discussions around the mental health and mental well-being of Maroon people living in Suriname. The following themes related to the Maroon people in Suriname were explored:
(1) mental health,
(2) mental well-being, and
(3) mental illness.
The conference organizers attempted to target the following groups of Maroon people: (a) community leaders, (b) teachers, (c) students, and (d) healthcare professionals to encompass all the potential support systems available. Three conferences were held: two virtual conferences in October 2021 and 2022 and one in-person conference in Paramaribo, Suriname in July 2023.
2025
LET'S TALK ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH
Many Albertans who are descendants of countries in the Caribbean are members of their country’s associations. These associations operate independently rather than collectively to identify, discuss, and share resources with their constituents. Through mental health community dialogue, we intend to promote communication and purposeful collaboration among these groups to address the mental health needs of their communities.
People from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds can experience race-based bias, discrimination, and systemic barriers that can negatively affect their health and well-being and make it more difficult for them to find a job or access housing, education, health care and social services (Government of Alberta, 2023). Alberta Health Services (2021) reported that racism causes trauma, and trauma paints a direct line to mental illnesses. Ethnic community associations are a source of mutual support that can be strengthened and magnified by sharing resources and ideas.
MENTAL HEALTH COMMUNITY DIALOGUE
Programs and services to the community
Early YEEPI projects focused on soliciting and transporting direct donations of needed goods to impoverished communities in Suriname. More recently, our projects have included empowering these communities to lift themselves out of poverty and produce their own supplies, for example, by establishing a locally owned and led micro-enterprise and a sister non-profit organization in Suriname.
We are also focusing increasingly on promoting mental health and well-being, having organized three Suriname Maroon Mental Health Conferences involving government, mental health professionals, and community leaders from Suriname, Canada, the United States, England, the Netherlands, and the Caribbean. Another is planned for 2025. The importance and power of information resource sharing and collaborative action were strikingly demonstrated to us. We now seek to apply this learning to the needs of racialized Calgarians.
YEEPI's Testimonials
YEEPI'S KNOWLEDGE & CAPACITY TO DELIVER
Our Board members, volunteers, partners, and donors are equipped to start conversations and sustain cross-cultural engagement around mental health and well-being. They include many health and mental health professionals who have successfully organized and led similar events. A list of those involved and descriptions of their qualifications and experience is attached.
TOOLS & RESOURCES TO BE DEVELOPED
Resources for parents, guardians, and caregivers (reports, flyers, brochures on mental health and well-being tailored to targeted ethnic communities. Links to government and community resources. Creation of a shareable directory of subject matter experts.
PARTNER’S ROLE
Partnering organizations will be invited to present information on their resources, efforts, and outcomes, as well as their perceived strengths and challenges regarding the mental health and well-being of the communities they represent. They will be asked to identify ways to collaborate, make more efficient use of available resources, and create new resources to improve outcomes.
BENEFIT TO COMMUNITIES
Documentation from community dialogues, along with resources for parents, guardians, and caregivers and links to government and community resources, have real network effects: as dialogues and community engagement grow, the community becomes aware of the issues, healthcare providers can respond faster to issues and challenges, support becomes more globally available, and ultimately generates more value.