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Definitely had a good time at Mexico, not only working in lab for the past two days, but also getting close to everyone! Healing Hearts Across Borders definitely is a great program where we are able to help someone whether it be by giving food, playing with them, or providing basic medical care. It provided me an opportunity to appreciate what I already have and show me what I can do to make a huge difference in someone else’s life. A small deed goes a long way and it has truly been a blessing to be apart of the trip.

Kevin Kuo

This trip was a very eye opening experience especially the view from the top of the city dump hill where you could see both the dump and San Diego not too far off. It was incredible to see the difference in living conditions between the two within such close proximity to each other and how oblivious/naive most of us are.

Philip Habar

I am really glad that I followed up with you after receiving that first group email. This first trip for me to Mexico and with HHAB enlightened me to the need for medical services in community. I felt that the children at both locations showed the most appreciation for the care and time that we provided. Before we left the Dome, one girl that I had drawn blood from came around to the entire group to hug us good bye. That same girl had also been involved in helping unload and load the vans, which showed how big her heart was. The dump site had children with the same motivation to help us. I spent the majority of the day barbecuing with one boy, Benito, from the dump who was just as motivated to feed his community. All the children that I was able to speak broken Spanish with said that they were in school. I felt hopefully for their futures and saw how this organization helps to better their futures.

Matthew Deshong

It’s been less then 24 hours and I can’t stop thinking about the HHAB trip. My time this weekend was brilliant, thanks for such a great growing experience! These trips only further solidify my goals for the future & I’m so grateful I stumbled upon this organization.

Lawrence Chui

Mexico has always been a foreign land that I had little understanding of.  I have heard stories of some impoverished areas before, but I always assumed the stories to be exaggerated. It was until I saw for my own eyes that the stories I’ve heard are actually quite accurate. It was not shocking to me that poverty exists, but it was unbelievable that such poverty existed so close to San Diego. This experience was also extremely inspirational due to the many physicians, pharmacists, and volunteers who were willing to help complete strangers.

During my time there, I mainly helped in food preparation and food distribution. Seeing the gratitude of the people of Tijuana from a bit of food was extremely rewarding. I recall that at the end of the first clinic, a young girl approached many of the volunteers and thanked us in Spanish. That is when I knew that we were successful because the smile on her face told me that all of our hard work was appreciated and necessary.

Courtney Steinwachs

During dinner, everyone at our table bought some flowers from Rafael. This was my third trip and every time I have seen Rafael work very hard to earn money so that he can buy the insulin he needs to stay alive. This trip, however, was a little bit more touching because we were able to talk to Rafael personally and walk with him for a couple of blocks outside of the restaurant. During our conversation, he told me how the HHAB organization has not only saved his life, but supports him in more ways than I could have ever imagined. Rafael said that his rent costs about $30 per month, and he pays the rent for himself and his younger brothers. By selling flowers to the HHAB volunteers, Rafael made enough money to pay not only for his insulin for 3 months, but also enough to pay for 2 months of rent. This short conversation with Rafael made me realize that HHAB not only brings medical care to the people of Tijuana, but prevents Rafael and his brothers from being homeless on the streets of Tijuana.

Note:  The young man in this picture is our friend and long-time patient Rafael. He is a diabetic, and appeared in our clinic this trip with a blood sugar level 5 times normal. Unable to afford the insulin he needs, his future health picture is not good. HHAB has made arrangements to purchase his insulin for him, and to provide the testing supplies he needs to monitor his blood sugar at home.

Todd Linke

Thank you for providing me the opportunity to join HHAB this weekend.  I had no idea the powerful emotional impact it would have on me, nor the scope of the assistance that we would provide.  Today I have felt alternately happy that I could help and connect with the other volunteers, the families and especially the children, as well as sad that families are in such dire situations and that there is such an overwhelming need for our services.  But I look forward to helping again, and seeing new and familiar faces.

Bridgett Knowles

Trip highlights from a high school science teacher’s perspective (an Academy of Medical and Health Sciences at Mount Miguel High School teacher’s perspective to be more exact):

I had already sent a small handful of AMHS (Academy of Medical and Health Sciences) students down to volunteer with HHAB to “get an experience few other high schoolers even come close to experiencing”. It had been one students 5th or 6th trip when I told myself that if I am sending my kids down there, I need to get my booty down to Mexico to get the same experience myself. So I signed up for the summer 2011 trip.

The trip exceeded expectations on more than one front. Culturally, I got to be an outsider in an unfamiliar land. What an experience for a teacher that has classes FULL of students feeling the same way! And with me were my students who had a huge edge on me. They became my teachers! I LOVED that! Speaking of students, another unexpected wonderful surprise…interacting with so many AMAZING young minds! A teacher’s dream! I got to experience my students interfacing with science undergrads, medical students, lab techs, physicians, pharmacists, and dentists. And I got to interface with all these creative and brilliant people myself. The social component was something I hadn’t expected. Going outside my comfort zone (as I consistently advise my students to do) left me with an amazing experience I will likely remember for a lifetime. I went back across the border (after 1 and 1/2 hours waiting anyway!) with a global perspective, a developed sense of compassion and memories that were both happy and moving.

A few happy memories (besides making new friends) include:

I was aiding in clean up on the second day but couldn’t find any garbage bags. I asked Dr. Rose for some and he gave me some red biohazard bags instead. Using some candy as a bribe, I solicited the help of five youngsters waiting for their Moms at the pharmacy. When Dr Rose took a break from the lab, he just about had a heart attack when he saw little ones running around the site with biohazard bags! HA!

I was trained by an undergrad how to perform a finger prick and was able to use that skill for the first time to check the blood glucose of a young man I will never forget, Rafael. I am motivated and inspired to continue to support HHAB in any way possible, to be able to get kids like Rafael the insulin they literally need to survive.

A little tiny boy (maybe 3 years old) wandered up in to the lab on the first day. With my extremely limited Spanish, I thought he said he was lost and couldn’t find his Tia. I took him down to registration, where Kim translated that he actually had heard I had candy! I had given out some gummy vitamins to one of his family members and he wanted his share! Toooo cute!

The trip was one I will remember for a lifetime. I’m excited to both collaborate with and continue to support HHAB in to the years ahead. I am very appreciative of the opportunity they afforded both me and my students by allowing us to come with them.

Faith Barreyro

This was my first time joining HHAB on their medical trip to Tijuana, Mexico.  And if I could sum up in one word about this trip, it would be “phenomenal”.  I am blessed to have been part of something that changed the lives of the underserved.  Not only did it change their lives, but mine’s as well. I loved every moment of the trip.  As a pre-dental student, I finally got to get “my feet wet” into what I would like to do in the future, helping in the missions in other countries.  I’ve never experienced working with doctors and dentists and serving the Mexican people who are less fortunate than myself.  I don’t know if I could point out to any one particular “highlight” of the trip, but I think it was awesome how me and Aline had the dental section of the mission all to ourselves; and working with Dr. Turner, Odelia (Dr. Turner’s wife), and Dr. Choi was astounding!  I saw countless extractions on both days, and I hope to be able to do one on the next trip.  Thank you for the opportunity again Dr. Rose and Marilyn!! You two are awesome!

Joel Kaluzny

What I enjoyed most about this trip was seeing patients I recognized from previous trips.  We would exchange smiles/nods and broken English/Spanish.  It made me realize that our patients not only appreciate the services we provide to them, they appreciate us on a personal level.  I feel like I am beginning to develop relationships with some of the patients, and I think that is really cool.

Nathan Yu

I’m really glad that I had the opportunity to come on this HHAB trip. Some of the best moments: After the first day, a little girl came up to all of the volunteers behind the dome and gave us all a big hug and thanked us for coming. I think she really represented the gratitude and love the people in Tijuana showed and shared with us. But I’m sure the best memories are still to come from the relationships we can establish with the local people and the satisfaction that accompanies the knowledge that we can help children just like the little girl who shared her love with us.

I wasn’t able to talk much with you much because I was grilling hotdogs both days.  But I’m glad I did because I met alot of the people and saw how much they need our help. I am not signing up for the next trip at this moment because I don’t want to occupy a space when I’m unsure of midterm schedule for the fall. But I’ll send you another email soon about the November trip.  Thanks again

Melissa Yang

An important thing, I think about these HHAB trips, is that they provide so much help, hope, and heart for the poverty stricken people in TJ. For me as a premed student, I always thought the medical field was a glorified career that took place inside four nice clean, air conditioned walls called a hospital, and yes, that may be true, but what I saw from this HHAB trip is that the real glory and satisfaction of working in the medical field is seeing the faces of these people brighten with whatever little help they can receive from our effort, whether under a roof, under a tent or under the open sky.

This story is from our May 2010 visit.  I heard about Ana from her mother, who sat sobbing before me at the improvised counseling “office” we set up in Tijuana’s poorest neighborhood, next to the city garbage dump.

Ana is 15 years old.  She has glossy black hair, and sparkling black eyes with long black lashes, through which she tends to look shyly at you when she talks.  She loves to read, draw, and cook special foods for her little sister.

Three weeks ago, on a Friday morning about 9:00, she was on her way to a job interview.  Her father has not been helping support her family– mother, 5 year old sister, and 16 year old brother– and she was hoping to get a job as a cashier at the store they shop in.

As she trudged along the road in the morning sunlight, a car suddenly pulled over and two men in masks leaped out and grabbed her by the hair.  They dragged her into the car, pushing her between them, and suddenly pressed a moist rag to her face…  When Ana woke up, she was lying beside the road in another neighborhood.  Her clothes were torn, her body was bruised, and her body had been violated.  Ana dragged herself to an aunt’s house nearby, and was taken to the police station.  The police took her report, but admitted they would take no action, because Ana had never seen the rapists’ faces, and could not identify them.

Word got out in the neighborhood that Ana had been molested.  But rather than outrage or sympathy, she was accosted with scorn and blame.  Even though she had never had a boyfriend, was known to be a modest and even prim young girl, many of the local women took the occasion to heap ridicule on Ana, a violated woman.  She was made fun of when she went out, and so she stayed in the tiny house, filled with misery.  To make matters worse, Ana had missed her period, and the prospect of a pregnancy from the terrible event filled the whole family with dread.

Her mother cried as she told me how Ana would hardly talk to her, and would not come for counseling, or an examination, to the medical site we had set up, because she would be abused and shamed.  She explained that Ana’s underwear and her only presentable clothes for job interviews had been ruined, or taken in the attack, and that she could not afford to replace them.  “Comida o ropas” (Food or clothes) was the dilemma the mother faced, inevitably deciding that feeding the family had to take precedence.

In the end, I took my translator, Francesca (a sweet, tender 23 year old volunteer) up the road to see Ana in her little home.  Ana’s tiny 5 year old sister refused to leave the room at first, alternately guarding her big sister, and looking for something to play with.  Ana was very guarded herself, although she had consented to our visit.  She showed us her room, including the photos of an older brother who had been murdered in the drug wars.  I talked to her about feelings, inviting her to express herself, but with shy smiles, Ana said very little.  However, the little she did say moved Francesca to tears.  I spoke gently to Ana, and reassured her, “If some strangers came into my bedrooom, I would find it hard to talk, too!”  I told her that if she wanted to talk later in the day, Francesca and I would be available.  And I urged her to come to the medical site, where she could be examined.

A few hours later, we saw that Ana had indeed ventured out to be see a doctor at our site.  Ana’s mother told Francesca that Ana seemed much more relaxed since our visit, and had spoken to her.  Meanwhile, Francesca–who was about the same physical size as Ana–had gone through her luggage and extracted some clean, new clothes that Ana might wear to a job interview.  She didn’t have an extra bra with her, though.  So she canvassed the other volunteers, and found one that would fit Ana.  She produced the bag containing the clothes and asked Ana’s mother to accept it for Ana.

Despite the heartbreak of the situation, I was so glad that Ana had come to the site, and touched by Francesca’s generosity.  My heart soared when I learned that Ana’s pregnancy test had come back negative.  Maybe this little girl still had a chance.

Suzanne Lake, PsyD
Doctor of Clinical Psychology
626 795  8148
2810 E. DelMar Blvd., #10A
Pasadena, Ca 91107

On Friday November 6th, the HHAB team set up shop in a building called The Dome in Colonia Grupo Mexico. Sparked by our volunteer Mariachi duo and cadre of face painters, the team serviced 509 people, mostly women and children, delivering free medical and dental care, along with free medications and laboratory testing, and donations of food, clothing, and brand new toys to the children.

Our enthusiastic volunteers re-grouped on Saturday November 7th to set up another free clinic in Colonia Obrera amidst a shanty town near the Tijuana dump. This time our team was joined by a team from KABC-TV news in Los Angeles, who reported on our team’s weekend trip. Another 481 people received services during Saturday’s clinic, for a two day total of 990 people served.

The November weekend was typical of the all-volunteer trips the organization runs every three months. This trip marked the end of Dr. John Rodarte’s seven year tenure as President of HHAB. The organization now looks forward to continuing their mission under the guidance of Dr. Tony Monares.

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]]> http://www.healingheartsacrossborders.com/?feed=rss2&page_id=156 0 http://www.healingheartsacrossborders.com/?page_id=143 http://www.healingheartsacrossborders.com/?page_id=143#comments Thu, 04 Jun 2009 06:55:14 +0000 admin http://www.healingheartsacrossborders.com/?page_id=143 Your donations are very much appreciated. We are currently raising funds to build a first-class medical clinic in Tijuana, Mexico. Please help us toward this goal.

You may make a donation by check or money order or by on-line using your PayPal or credit card account.

To donate by checks or money orders send to:

Healing Hearts Across Borders (HHAB)
2036 Brockwell Ave.
Monterey Park, CA   91754

To donate on-line by PayPal or credit card:

For any questions please contact:

We are a tax-exempt 501(C)(3) non-profit corporation.

At this site, we set up our clinic in a large concrete dome (known as “La Bola” by the residents), next to a church under construction. While patients wait their turn to see a doctor or the dentist, stray dogs loiter, hoping to steal scraps from someone’s unattended lunch.

While the paved streets and sturdier construction suggest that this community has more resources than Colonia Obrera, it is clear that the need is still there, especially for a reliable source of ongoing health care. On each HHAB visit, patients eagerly inquire when we will return. In a short period of time, we have already established a regular presence that the community can count on, and their gratitude and enthusiasm are evident.

As at Colonia Obrera, we are currently working to become a more constant and stable entity within this community, in order to help the residents access the ongoing care they need.

Colonia Obrera, affectionately known as “The Dump Site,” houses some of the neediest families in the city. At first glance you see an average community of people going about their daily activities. Upon closer inspection, you see people grateful to earn a humble living from what the dumpsite provides. Some residents work at the dump, half of these as municipal employees, half as independent trash sifters gleaning items of value from the trash. Others in the community work as taxi drivers, cooks, roofers, or in the maquiladoras (factories) in and around Tijuana .

The city dwellers are industrious, as the homes in this community are primarily self-constructed by the inhabitants from whatever raw materials they can find or can afford to purchase. By tapping electrical wire into the poles overhead, this community harvests electricity from existing power poles running through the area. The subtle hint of burning rubber that lingers in the air is the by-product of harmful carbon dioxide intermingled with non-biodegradable waste such as tires, car batteries, and other refuse that make it into the dump for disposal.

With the primary focus for the people on survival, preventative health care is an afterthought. Because these people barely earn enough to feed their families, basic but essential medications such as inhalants, fever reducers, and aspirin are considered luxury rather than necessity. Many of the medical conditions encountered by our physicians could be counterbalanced by better basic preventative care.

The strong spirit of these wonderful people shines bright as the sun, despite the lack of financial resources experienced by this community. Each HHAB visit is greeted with enthusiasm and joy. You would never know they needed anything from their lovely demeanor.

February 9-11, 2012
May 10-12, 2012
August 9-11, 2012
November 8-10, 2012

Trip dates include departure on Thursday evening from either the Los Angeles or San Diego area, and return to the U.S. on Saturday night. For more trip information, please see the Volunteers section.