From Sábalos to Florida
Person to person, home to heart
The eyes have it!!
Above, the 2014 mission to Esperanza ~ Spanish for Hope, captures activity from the vision clinic, across the schoolyard of our dental operations. This writer had two previous trips to the Rio San Juan region, known to our club as Sábalos, a regional crossing between Nicaragua and Costa Rica. A medical-dental clinic is located there, and it became our focal Global Grant to upgrade it significantly. This story has its roots four years prior.
The year was 2010. New to Sunrise, Rich Randolph eagerly trekked off on his first of five dental and vision missions to Nicaragua. Nicaraguan Dentist Xavier Fonseca was filling his Colgate-Palmolive van with oral hygiene kits to distribute along with his clinical skill to our club's multi-day project. Peter Hoberg was in charge among other duties, of ordering lunches from a local cafe. Lots of pollo, peps and coca cola for energy to fuel the active sustained standing hours serving Nicaraguans who had trekked to the clinic for oral and visual relief. Over 300 people were served each day. The venue, a USAID sponsored site from the 1960's echoed a progressive period of international cooperation. For this new Sunriser, seeing Rotarians in their 40's and seventies~ past club president Vickie Lochner was indeed inspiring.
Veteran to other mission projects, Steve Amend help set up my mosquito netting.
Little did I know Xavier would wed another Nicaraguan dentist Ana before the 2012 project and in 2018 extend a Sonoma County visit now in its seventh year with wife Ana, and daughter Ana Lucia. But wait, there is more.
Rafael and Ninoska, our "boots on the ground" logistics team brought their story of gratitude to our 2018 Fundraiser and with the inimitable draw of State Senator-Auctioneer extraordinaire Mike McGuire, inspired partners to pony up a record over $70K for equipping our Global Grant Surgical Center in Sábalos, Nicaragua. That collaboration illustrates the Magic of Rotary and persuasive power if Win-Win cooperation.
Who are you building bridges with? What do you want on your "win board"?
For Xavier and Ana Lucia, their win is a new start here in the United States where they aspire to professionally thrive and spread the inspiration shared with them through Sunrise and our partners who subscribe to our motto "Service Above Self."
