Rotary - Project C.U.R.E. Partnership

Tom Wilson and Richard Stanley are winter residents in Bucerias, Mexico. They have taken on a challenge. They are committed to helping improve the medical care/supplies available to small rural clinics in Mexico. Richard and Tom will be spending 21 days visiting Rotary Clubs in Arizona, Nevada and California to seek financial support for their project, in conjunction with Project C.U.R.E. The following is the route of their trip. The journey began on November 8, 2017. FACTS ABOUT THIS PROJECT: THE PROBLEM: •      Health care in Mexico is seriously under-funded. •      High quality health care is only available to those who can afford it. •      The Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development provides statistics for 34 nations world wide on a vast variety of economic and health care issues. •      Mexico ranks at or near the bottom of most measures when it comes ...

The response to our blog has far exceeded our expectations, as has the enthusiasm of the Rotary Clubs we've visited. We're humbled by the accolades foisted upon us. We've had many inquiries from individuals  about supporting our project. This is something we hadn't even considered when developing this adventure. By the end of this coming week, we will have developed a conduit to accept donations from individuals through the Westminster 7:10 Rotary Club Foundation.  Watch for an addition to this page with the details. For now, 'thank you' to those who believe in our endeavor. We are gratified by your commitment to help us. Tom & Richard

The most welcome attribute of San Diego was the change in our mode of dress. We were able to wear shorts, at last! The weather, while quite chilly in early morning, warmed nicely to the high 70's-low 80's by afternoon. We spent a pleasant evening with Tom's brother, Jerry, and his friend Annette, at Pomodoro's Italian Restaurant. It was good for Tom to catch up on how his brother is doing. They tend to see each other only once a year. Our Sunday was spent on Steel Canyon Golf Course in northeast San Diego. It was quite a hilly course that challenged our well developed, fine tuned golfing skills. On Monday evening, we had dinner with an old friend of Richard's, Alan and friend, Judith. Richard  had not seen Alan in over 25 years. It was a very pleasant evening and there was talk of Alan and Judith coming to Mexico for a visit. The highlight of our time in San Diego was attending a meeting of the Club Rotary Binacional de Coronado. This club, tha...

The Wednesday before Thanksgiving started as a foggy but promising day. The weather in Chico was down to 100 foot ceilings and 1 1/4 mile visibility but as the sun came up it quickly cleared and we were anxious to move on in our journey. Our last minute contact with the East Fresno Rotary Club worked out well. Although they were not having a regular meeting where we could do a formal presentation they were having a more informal "fellowship" type meeting to help celebrate Thanksgiving. We were graciously welcomed and introduced at their meeting and shared some cold cuts and exchanged information about each others clubs and their missions. They agreed to meet with us after the meeting to present our Project. We met with President John Horstman, the Chair of the Internal Outreach Marilyn Behringer and member, Mark. They listen quite attentively and further explained that they had a long tradition of  supporting projects in Bolivia but would consider our requests. Once again...

Monday morning we headed for Chico from Eureka. We had to delay our departure from Eureka because of poor weather conditions in Chico. We finally made the decision to head for Oroville, instead which is down the valley from Chico, and showed better ceiling and visibility. We finally took off about 10:45. We climbed out to about 11,000 feet and found ourselves in clouds and rain. Finally, after about 45 minutes, the Chico weather improved significantly so we diverted to our original destination, Chico. We landed in Chico about 12:30. Soon after, the weather closed in and it rained most of the rest of the day. That evening, we met up with Tom's cousin and her husband and shared a very tasty dinner at the Sierra Nevada Brewery. Our AirBnB was in Durham which just south of Chico. The house is out in the country and surrounded by nut orchards and small farm operations. It was an extremely nice setting. The house was just incredibly livable with many personal touches including a tray wit...

We are now in the town of Eureka, California. The setting on Humboldt Bay is spectacular. The architecture is a mix of late 19th century homes with lots of brick-a-brack trim, steep roof pitches, and nicely matched base colors and trim colors. Of great pride to the people of Eureka is the Carson mansion, a magnificent home near the harbor in downtown Eureka. Historically, Eureka was a center for logging and fishing. With a population in the neighborhood of 30,000 residents, it is quaint and very friendly. Humboldt County has a population approaching 136,000. This area is the home to the Giant Sequoia trees. Yesterday, we were hosted to a delightful lunch at Shamus T-Bones, by Carl Willoughby and Dean Charlton, from the Rotary Club of Southwest Eureka. We enjoyed an informative conversation about Rotary projects in Mexico. Dean was raised in Mexico City and speaks fluent Spanish. Past Mexico projects included an interface with the Puerto Vallarta Sur Rotary Club, which Richard an...