Mission
St. Anthony’s Alliance is a non-profit organization which supports lifesaving and life enhancing interventions for the health and well being of people living in moderate and extreme poverty.
St. Anthony’s Alliance: From the Founder
St. Anthony’s Alliance is a charitable 501-c-3 organization founded in 1992 by Jim Tryon, MD and his wife, Teresa Balcomb, MD. The organization, originally called “St. Anthony’s Pharmacy”, was established to provide pharmaceutical support in the Mostar region of Bosnia during the 1992 – 1996 war. On the first supply trip to that region, the medicine and medical supplies were brought over from the United States and stored in St. Anthony’s Church, a small friary on the outskirts of Mostar, to prevent theft. After filling the church completely with the supplies, Father Svetezar Kraljevic, the Franciscan Friar who was church rector, turned to Dr. Tryon with a smile and remarked, “Look, Jim, you have turned my church into a pharmacy…it is now “St. Anthony’s Pharmacy!”… the name stuck.
St. Anthony’s Pharmacy continued to supply pharmaceutical support throughout the war, by developing a relationship with a Croatian Pharmaceutical manufacturer and a Bosnia physician. This allowed us to procure high quality medicine from nearby Croatia , labeled in the proper language, with long expiration dates, and short supply lines, as opposed to trying to ship from the United States. St. Anthony’s methodology remained successful for the duration of the war, sustained by grants and private donations, supplying over $1,000,000 worth of medicine. No medicine or supplies were ever lost.
The war in Bosnia ended in 1996. By then, St. Anthony’s Pharmacy had gained recognition for its success, and was approached by the Clinique de La Sante Familiale in Fond des Blancs, Haiti and the Women’s Empowerment Network in Mulukuku, Nicaragua to lend similar assistance. Since then, and despite the fact that St. Anthony’s has never actively solicited a new project, we have added Esperanza de Joaquin in central Mexico, Fortalecer in Baja, Mexico, the Damian House in Ecuador, Faith Alive Hospital in Jos, Nigeria, and the Casa de Salud Clinic in Albuquerque, New Mexico to our list of partners. Early on, we also worked cooperatively with the Behrhorst Partners for Development in Guatemala.
We recognized that our success in Bosnia was due in large part to our ability to identify trustworthy and capable consultants in country, and to utilize existing resources within country to minimize costs and maximize efficiency. We have retained that process as a core feature of our policy and procedures, and have continued to work successfully with our partners in Haiti, Nicaragua, Mexico, Ecuador and Nigeria, building trust and sustainable support over time. Since 1995, St. Anthony’s has successfully provided financial and technical assistance, including more than $65,000 of assistance to Haiti, over $250,000 to Nicaragua, more than $75,000 to Mexico, $20,000 to Ecuador and over $30,000 to Nigeria.
In 2006, St. Anthony’s Pharmacy officially changed its name to St. Anthony’s Alliance, Inc. reflecting its revised mission statement and expanded focus that includes economic development, and education as well as medicine and medical supplies.
St. Anthony’s Alliance has incorporated the UN’s Millennial Project goals as core elements of our mission, and we look forward to continuing our relationships with our partners.
