Our mission is to bridge the communication gap between
traditional and western ideals through research and
cross-cultural exchange to create sustainable communities.

Click on the photo above to view a short documentary.

The Organization for Cross-Cultural Exchange (OCCE) is a multi - disciplinary organization. Its purpose is to develop relationships with other like - minded groups to work in developing countries, along with bringing sustainability to communities that will benefit the health and welfare of the people.

OCCE, a 501(C) 3 non- profit, was created to engage communities in an organized effort to improve their quality of life through capacity building.  The core motivation for this organization is reuniting indigenous people to their fundamental relationship with traditional medicines and traditional values. Another crucial objective is identifying barriers that hinder cross-cultural exchange between traditional healers and the biomedical community.

Before this exchange can take place underlying problems such as poverty and a lack of unity in the community need to be addressed before truly sustainable cultural communication and an interconnected community can function at full capacity.

OCCE’s philosophy is to fully recognize and respect the culture and traditions of the people who want to create a sustainable community.  Therefore, OCCE does not just give, but educates and involves the community in the decision-making process for developing solutions. Clean and accessible water and sanitation are rights all people deserve.   OCCE believes that by offering an opportunity to develop resources — such as clean water, suitable sanitation and income generation projects– the community can lift itself from poverty and begin the transformation to a sustainable community.

Please click on the projects icon to read more about OCCE’s projects.

Narrative

The Organization for Cross Cultural Exchange (OCCE) was established for the purpose of developing collaborative techniques in the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS in South Africa. Since poverty is a risk factor for disease, poverty must also be addressed. Interviewing traditional healers is a key component of this project. By interviewing traditional healers the knowledge gained can be disseminated to western thinkers, thus connecting the two worldviews.  OCCE is an interdisciplinary organization using anthropological interviewing as a tool to understand the local worldview via traditional healers. Since traditional healers are well-respected and honored members of the community, interviewing them to understand the culture and values helps systematize ideas to formulate proper poverty alleviation programs devised to meet specific cultural needs. Public health reflections and traditional ideals formulate effective health and educational principles for the village at large. Moreover, OCCE’s strategy to interview traditional healers benefits the people they serve and can assist medical personnel in their further examination of health issues. Thus, by understanding their culture through the traditional healers, two areas of need can be addressed. First, the examination of the lack of quality treatment due to poverty conditions and next, the identification of the means for building a sustainable community. OCCE’s intent is to provide a cohesive link to the daunting task of safeguarding a village from diseases such as HIV and TB through poverty alleviation.