Frank and Jim Talk Caborca!

Last week’s program was the team of Past Presidents; Jim Evans and Frank Gonzalez. Jim has been leading groups from Sierra Vista into Caborca, Mexico for the last 8-10 years and Frank has been on the last three trips. These groups meet up with other Rotarians from California and other parts of Arizona and then travel by bus into Mexico to the town of Caborca. The purpose of these trips is to provide immunizations against polio for young children.

The annual trip begins in California with approximately 45-50 people and then picks up people in Arizona before crossing the border into Mexico. Jim coordinates the members from Rotary District 5500 who participate. He told the club that there is an allotment of eight seats on the bus for local Rotarians. He reminds people that they need passports in order to cross back into the United States. The trip is made over a weekend beginning on a Friday afternoon. The bus usually arrives in Caborca between 5:00 to 6:00 pm. Sometimes there are delays after crossing the border, but these delays are usually resolved quickly and the bus is sent on its way.

As a ‘tag-team,’ Jim handed off to Frank who discussed events in the Caborca area. The participants spend two nights in Caborca and return on Sunday to Arizona. The Rotary Club of Caborca hosts the group and provides some meals and entertainment for their visitors from the USA. Pictures were shown of meals and entertainment. To conduct the immunizations, the Americans are formed into small groups of four or five people and then are joined by a Mexican nurse and a member of the Caborca Rotary Club who is familiar with the neighborhood which each small group visits. There was also a large contingent of young people from Interact or Roteract who enthusiastically participated in the program. To receive the drops for immunization, family members wait with the child who needs the immunization. They are prepared with the immunization record for the child. The small groups go door–to-door in the different neighborhoods giving the polio immunization to as many children as possible.

Jim and Frank closed with the recommendation for everyone to sign up for a trip to do immunizations – it is rewarding, satisfying, and personally gratifying to be able to contribute to the worldwide campaign to eradicate polio.