Check out this crowd of smiling faces in Tizapan el Alto, Jalisco!   The brigade members are in the front row, wearing their UVM white coats and the rest are our proud graduates.  The completion of this project means that we are now serving more people than the population of Savannah, Georgia.  Since Laura missed the graduation due to knee surgery, she will be meeting the brigade members and new Promotores next month.  Now cleared for travel, she will be doing the advance work for Tia’s June project and will make a special trip to thank the municipal officials in Tizapan and congratulate the new grads in person.

We have a record number of graduates today in Tizapan el Alto, Jalico, a municipality south of Lake Chapala, the largest lake in Mexico!    So many volunteers attended our courses simply because they wanted an opportunity to learn and be of help to their friends and neighbors.  Tia is always happy to accept more students because they share their knowledge with others and can work in tandem together, as you see in this picture.  They are learning how to carry a patient who needs cervical spine precaution.  After their rigorous exams, the graduation ceremony will take place, followed by a big party to celebrate their achievement.  Check back soon for pictures from the graduation…

After learning how to take vitals, many of the Promotoras volunteered to help with the free consultations being offered in the communities.  The woman on the left with the stethoscope, is being guided by one of our UVM brigade members.  She won’t be graduating till late on Friday, but already she has mastered CPR, injections and IV setups.  Today, she’ll be learning how to use her glucometer, first aid for cuts, burns and other injuries.  Usually, we train around 25 Promotoras, of whom 20 are chosen by their neighbors, the rest are volunteers who just want to learn and help.  This time we have over 60!

Our brigade and the Tia team visited Rosa Amarillo, which is known for their milk and their small batch, family cheese makers who specialize in asadero and adobera.  If you’ve ever had queso fundido in Mexico, it was probably made with asadero.  The brigade provided free medical consultations as well as health education in the schools in the area. Tia will have some new Promotoras (Community Health Workers) from this region, who will graduate at the end of the week.

We would like to extend a huge thank you to the government in Tizapan el Alto!  They have overwhelmed us with their hospitality and generosity.  They truly care for their people and have bent over backwards to make us welcome, including helping us out with great food and lodging.  They also provided daily transportation for the Promotoras who live quite far from the training location.  Many communities greet our group with agua frescas and snacks.  Everyone giving what they are able.  We will never forget this project and its people!

The collaborative relationships we enjoy ensure the sustainability of Tia projects.  And in the case of Tizapan el Alto, the combined efforts of each individual are running this project like a well-oiled machine, guaranteeing that this will be one of our most successful projects yet, with over 50 volunteer Promotoras attending our courses this week!  This picture shows perfectly the mix of team members required to make this collaboration work.

Lily (pink shirt) and Adriana (white shirt) are community representatives.  The men (from left to right) are Dr. César, the Director of the Municipal Health Center in Tizapan el Alto; Nate Harris, Program and Marketing Director from Tia; Dr. Roberto Martinez, UVM Brigade Director; and Lic. Gerardo Barba González, the Regidor of Heath from the Municipal Government responsible for coordinating all these efforts from the government side.  Then, there is Patricia Garibay Fernandez del Valle, Program Coordinator for Tia.