Missions Trip to Tijuana Nov 5-7, 2009

On Thursday, November 5, 2009, approximately 100 volunteers loaded rental vans, a bus, and private vehicles from Los Angeles to San Diego to join in the Healing Hearts Across Borders trip to Tijuana, Mexico. Our team was led by Dr. John Rodarte and included 8 physicians, 15 medical students (14 from USC, 1 from UC San Diego), 1 nurse, 2 dentists, 1 laboratory director, 2 pharmacy technicians, many undergraduate and graduate students from schools such as USC, UCLA, UC Berkeley, UC San Diego, Wellesley College in Massachusetts, and other schools, as well numerous other volunteers who were interested in volunteering their weekend to help others in need.

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.