Photo: Mark McAnelly (L) and Stan Vogelsang traveled down to San Quentin in Baja along with Jerry Hosenkamp to participate in the VIIDAI public health project.
A team of Old Mission Rotary traveled to San Quentin Baja over the weekend of October 25-27 to participate in the ViIDAI semi-annual public health program. Their team consisted of Stan Vogelsang, Jerry Hosenkamp and Mark MCAnelly. Wildfires along the Mexican coast re-routed their convoy inland and extended their five-hour trip into 10 hours! Old Mission Rotary funded a 15 passenger van that Mark McAnelly used to drive students from the SDSU School of Public Health to the project.
The Viajes Institucional Integración Docente Asistencial Investigación IVIIDAI) program is a collaboration between the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California (UABC) Medical School, San Diego State University (SDSU) School of Public Health and the University of California San Diego (UCSD) Medical School. VIIDAI's mission is to create an opportunity for students and faculty from these three universities to work together to provide medical services and public health education to migrant farm worker communities in Baja, California. The migrant farmers that work in the tomato plantations of San Quentin are Mixtec Indians from Oaxaca who speak their native Indian language.
Old Mission Rotary has participated by partnering with the Colonia Lomas de San Ramon Escuela Primaria Bilingue Salvador Diaz Miron Elementary School. The school has evolved to become the center of the community life. Old Mission Rotary teams ask what the leaders of the school need and want and then work to provide it by coordinating local construction contractors who hire local workers and buy supplies in the community.
Over the past 15 years, Old Mission Rotary has funded a kitchen, library, computer lab and a lunch patio shade structure. Old Mission Rotary paid to paint the school and install toilets and electrical lighting. A huge recent improvement was a water purification system that Old Mission Rotary helped to fund that now supplies clean water distribution piping. The schools kitchen was recently vandalized and so the Club will be funding a new secure kitchen with secure concreate and steel walls.
Special thanks to the remarkable Rotarians who participated in this important International Service project for Old Mission Rotary.