Empowering Communities
Friends, Prayer Partners, and Supporters,
I want to take this opportunity to update you on the progress of GCA's clinic in Vicente Guerrero. The news is all good and I am very proud of all my team has accomplished. It is an amazing success story that you have all helped me make possible.
First, some background. The clinic is a partnership between Global Care Alliance and Xochicalco University Medical School in Tijuana. GCA built and outfitted the facility and provided the operating funds. Xochicalco provides the physicians and oversees their practice and professional development. The clinic has a beautiful two-bedroom apartment on the second floor where the physicians live. The university provides new physicians each year while the previous year’s physicians go on to permanent positions. This year our physicians are Dra. Nancy Hurtado and Dra. Marcela Vasquez. Nancy and Marcela are terrific young professionals dedicated to their patients and the community in which they work. They are newly minted graduates of Xochicalco.
The clinic commenced operations on August 1st. On Monday, October 22nd, we reached a significant milestone. Specifically, on that day our doctors saw their 500th patient. That’s 500 patients seen in less than three months! Xochicalco and I see this as a major success given that our clinic is a brand-new venture and further that most clinics started in the area by NGOs like GCA fail soon after opening. At this rate, our doctors will see over 2,000 patients this year. I predict the number will be significantly larger since the number of patients seen per quarter will almost certainly continue to increase at an exponential rate. I believe our doctors may treat 2,500 patients in the first year. Again, this is a great achievement considering that our clinic is brand new and that most clinics in the area fail soon after opening. Thank you for making this amazing success possible.
Although it is too early to commit to another clinic project, I have been approached by people in Colonet — the location of Frances Kitchen, our original project in Mexico — about building a clinic there like the one in Vicente Guerrero. These people have seen the quality of GCA's facility and its success in the community and have concluded that their town needs one just like it. What better testimony than this to the powerful work we are doing in this poor area of Mexico. As I said, it is too early for me to commit to build a clinic in Colonet, but it is gratifying to know that they value the work we have done in Vicente Guerrero and recognize the success of our venture.
Please pray for the continued success of the clinic and that Nancy and Marcela will be able to handle the influx of new patients as we head into flu season. Remember, Nancy and Marcela are new doctors and we need to pray that they are not overwhelmed going into a challenging time of the year. Pray also for Griselda Arce and Yuridia Rodriguez, our administrative team, as they continue to streamline office procedures and reach out to make the clinic even better known in the community. I congratulate them for the terrific job they have done so far.
On another note, our annual Christmas Party in Mexico is coming up on the 9th of December. We have been doing this for years. We have a small carnival at the site of our clinic and community center, host a meal for the entire community, and distribute toys to the children. We also visit a migrant camp and give out care packages and toys to the residents there. I have an intuitive sense that this year’s party will be bigger than ever. Usually we try to collect 500 toys; this year I believe we will need 700. I believe the presence of the clinic will draw in more people than in years past.
Please help us collect toys for the kids. I am attaching a flyer that you can print out and use to solicit gifts at your work, at your church or school, and in your neighborhoods as well. As in past years, the toys should be new, unwrapped, and simple (without batteries or many moving parts). They should not cost more than $10 each and if directions are needed, they should be in Spanish. The boys love soccer balls and the girls love Barbie’s (the real ones, not the cheap knock offs) and craft kits. All the children like board and card games. Hot Wheels are hot, as are jigsaw puzzles. Again, however, tell people not to spend more than $10 per gift. Monetary donations in lieu of actual toys are also appreciated. We can purchase the toys for people who would rather just give money.
Toys can be dropped at my house — 4324 Avenida Gregory in Spring Valley. No one needs to be home for people to drop off toys. If we are not home, toys can be left on our front porch near the front door. In all the years, we have been doing this, we have never had any toys stolen from our front porch.
I need to update you on our projects in Burundi as well, but I will do that in a separate email which I will send our sometime next week. In the meantime, God’s blessings be upon you! Niles
