"God helps those who help themselves" is a popular motto that emphasizes the importance of initiative. With that in mind, the people of Cherokee Sound, Abaco, have taken it upon themselves to ensure that their community has a medical facility that they deem important, after not having a working clinic for more than three decades. For the past two years, they have been raising funds and working piecemeal to build a facility.
After three fundraisers, which raised $43,500 in total ($38,500 of which was raised at the most recent Cherokee Day) and a number of donations, the residents of Cherokee Sound were able to get their new facility that is being constructed on the same site as the former government clinic, up to belt course.
"This is something we are trying to do to make our lives better," said clinic building committee member, Lee Pinder. She said every member of the community should be working to make the clinic a reality because its existence could save their lives or the life of a family member.
Pinder said the building of the medical facility is important to her.
"I'm 77 and getting older every day and [I'm] going to be needing it myself, so I'm anxious to have it done and hoping it will be finished in a reasonable time so that I can take advantage of it," she said.
The former facility, built in the mid-1950s, included a waiting room, an examination room, bathroom facilities and a doctor's office in one half of the building. It also featured a fully furnished one-bedroom apartment for a visiting doctor in the other half. It was used for approximately 60 years before it was closed and sat in a state of disrepair. It was demolished in 2011.
"The government nurse started meeting patients in the old schoolhouse in 2004, where there is virtually no privacy for the patient since it is only a large open room and other patients are waiting nearby in the same room. Many patients said they would rather not see the nurse than be exposed to the intrusion of other would-be patients with their big ears," said Pinder. "It is definitely not a suitable venue for an intimate visit with the nurse or doctor."
She said the government doctor stopped visiting Cherokee Sound on a regular basis years ago, and that they were encouraged to drive to the Sandy Point clinic 60 miles away. With an aging population, and people without transportation, making the journey, she said, proved to be difficult for many Cherokee Sound residents. Pinder said the community decided to come together to help themselves.
The new building, when completed, is expected to house a waiting room, doctor's room, triage, ramp for an ambulance and a medicine room.
"It's a small facility with four or five rooms for patients and bathrooms. This is not a private clinic -- it is on government-owned land and is being built to house the visiting government nurse or doctor and for the convenience of patients situated in this area of Abaco," she said.
Pinder said the committee has no estimate as to how much the facility would cost in the final analysis. She said they had an idea and ran with it, and to date have gotten the facility up to belt course.
"We don't have a contractor, and are trying to do it piecemeal by ourselves. We have been paying for some of the labor for a licensed electrician and a licensed plumber... otherwise we've had local men do some of the work. When they poured the belt course the other day, 23 volunteers showed up from the community," she said.
With a population in the region of 160 to 180, Pinder said the people of Cherokee Sound are proving that they are up to the task of helping themselves and building the medical facility that will aid people in their surrounding communities. The Abaco Club at Winding Bay has also offered to assist them in the building of their new community clinic. Member of Parliament Edison Key also donated $35,000 from his constituency funds to the effort, according to Pinder. She said the committee has also received duty-free exemptions on their clinic building materials.

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