Since 2015 delegations from the Rotary Club of Nevada City have traveled to Baja California, Mexico to partner with Los Barriles Cabo Este Rotary Club. One year our focus was on the small communities around Los Barriles, where young elementary and high school students live in albergues, or dormitories, during the week.Their homes are too far from school for a daily commute over the dusty roads that crisscross the area. While the children were home for the weekend, the two Clubs worked together to scrub, scrape, and repaint the boy's dorm at La Ribera Albergue. Bright, fresh colors were chosen by the students for their weekday home. Once the paint had dried and the rooms detailed, the Clubs hung matching curtains throughout.In recent years, the Rotary Clubs of Nevada City and Los Barriles Cabo Este have partnered with East Cape Health Clinic to offer wellness clinics for children and families. Club members support medical professionals with an array of medical, dental and vision screenings. Screenings are for glucose levels (to determine possible diabetes), blood pressure, vision, and a much-needed dental exam.
Years before the Club had sponsored a local Rotary Club of San Jose Los Cabos, Mexico south of Los Barriles. We provided wheelchairs and other medical assistance and are happy to have renewed our partnership with Baja CA del Sur.
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More on the East Cape Wellness Clinics
In subsequent years we have shifted focus to host medical screenings with the East Cape Medical Clinic. Nevada Rotary has teamed with the Rotary Club of Los Barriles Cabo Este and other visiting Rotarians to provide vision testing and fitted eye glasses along with wellness testing of students and adults.
Each year, more than 400 school children in the town of Los Barriles and families in remote outlying areas have been tested for glucose levels as a precursor for diabetes, blood pressure, vision and dental. Records were kept and follow up visits will be held for those with immediate medical needs. The Rotarians brought eyeglasses to distribute to those who need them for reading. In addition to the town of Los Barriles, the screeners also drove to the isolated communities of El Cardinal, El Campamento and San Bartolo where there is no health care.
We have also provided funding to the small government Centro de Salud Clinic to support expansion of the facility as well as physiotherapy equipment and tools to treat patients with chronic osteoarthritis pain.
Each year our Club provides funding to address expressed needs of these clinics and individual members provide additional funds.