Patronato Pro Niños/Amistad Cana Partnership Pushes Ahead

By Chery Young

On Jan. 12, Patronato Pro Niños’ fifth mobile medical and dental unit was officially launched in San Miguel de Allende.

Municipal President Luis Alberto Villarreal acknowledged the incredible support of the Canadian Community, “On behalf of the people of San Miguel, we would like to thank them for two years of tireless work to bring this mobile medical and dental unit here. Thank you, Canada; thank you, San Miguel Canadians.”

The acquisition of this mobile unit was achieved with an investment of 1.9 million pesos, collected over two years of work between Patronato Pro Niños and Amistad Canada.

Nory Contractor, the executive director of Patronato, noted that “With this new unit, we will provide even more health services to the disadvantaged of San Miguel, bringing them the best possible care from doctors and dentists and of course a great team of drivers who also serve the unit as dental assistants.”

San Miguel de Allende is home to many families who face day-to-day challenges in accessing adequate medical care for their children. This new mobile unit goes to the more than 500 outlying communities throughout the municipality of San Miguel de Allende. Our mobile units provide treatment and education to thousands of children who would not have access to medical or dental treatment otherwise.

The units have two distinct areas, one configured for dental consultations and the other for medical consultations. The fully equipped vehicles have all the working instruments found in any medical or dental office. Patronato dentists and doctors travel every day to remote locations in the mobile units.

The organization employs four doctors, six dentists, a psychologist, a nutritionist, and a social worker who treat the children, and pays for medicines and the services of specialist doctors, therapists, and laboratories. Patronato also pays a portion of the cost of transportation to specialty hospitals and rehabilitation centers in Celaya, León, Querétaro, Mexico City, and Irapuato. Parents are expected to pay a nominal 10 pesos contribution each time their child visits a Patronato health care professional.

We want to thank all of our generous donors, and especially the Canadian community and our partner, Amistad Canada. We are delighted to announce that our strong, beneficial relationship has been renewed for two more years. The past two years were focused on fundraising here and in Canada so we could acquire and customize this mobile unit. Now we will need further contributions to support ongoing maintenance and operations.

For over 50 years, we have been dramatically changing and improving lives by providing the best care available. This year more than ever, with all the challenges and adversities due to COVID-19, children need access to quality medical services. Your contact for giving is Nory Contractor, executive director of Patronato Pro Niños. norycontractor@patronatoproninos.org or 415 125 4792. www.patronatoproninos.org

By promoting good health and oral hygiene, by providing necessary medical and dental care, by working with other health care providers as advocate and funding source, we help children from economically disadvantaged families in San Miguel de Allende lead healthier, fuller lives. And we’ve been doing this for 45 years. We now see second and third generations of the same family. These families trust Pro Niños.  And we’ve earned that trust by helping literally thousands and thousands of children through the years. With your help, we will continue this tradition and add to the many programs we already have in place.

Please donate now so that more children may THRIVE.

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Founded in 1970, Pro Niños was able to provide medical care to only 20 children in our first year of operation. Since then, we have grown in size and scope so that we now provide dental care to over 9,000 children, and medical care to 2,500 children in and around San Miguel de Allende. In total, we give more than 23,000 treatments a year. To serve these children, we have on staff four dentists, a doctor, a full time social worker and eight support staff.   We are accredited in Mexico as a charitable, non-profit organization (Asociación Civil), registered in the Federal Registry and awarded with tax exemption status. We are also incorporated in the United States as a 501 (c)(3) under the name “FTC International, Inc.” to accept U.S grants and individual donations.   All Mexican children from birth to 16 years of age who do not receive medical care from private insurance or social security benefits are eligible for our medical and dental care programs. It is estimated that 44,000 children fall into the 0-to-16-year-old category. Less than 15% receive social security benefits, leaving many without adequate medical care. We coordinate our services with two Mexican government programs (Seguro Popular and Nueva Generación) and fill some much-needed service gaps. Dental care, for other than the middle and upper-economic class, is nonexistent.   To preserve dignity and promote parental involvement with necessary follow-up care, families are asked to participate in the cost of their child’s care according to their ability, which in many cases is as little as ten pesos.   Every morning at 7:30, our three mobile dental vans depart San Miguel to visit some of the hundreds of villages needing dental services. Teachers, parents and children often meet our dentist and her assistant/driver at the entrance of the village. In a typical day, our dentists are able to dispense 25-30 treatments and the vans will return to the village for as long as it takes to serve every child.   The medical and dental care we provide can dramatically change lives and in some cases, even save lives. Once we have determined an individual child’s needs, we work closely with medical providers – as advocate and funding source – to make sure the child gets the best care possible.   On any given day in the clinic, our doctor treats as many as 20 children directly and refers others to specialists and various service providers as needed. The doctor also conducts follow-up to ensure that the children receive the required care from outside service providers. The in-clinic dentist treats an average of 15 children per day; those whose villages are not being visited by the mobile vans.   The Mexican Government, recognizing that Pro Niños fills gaps in the health services provided to citizens, provides support through grants of various amounts from various departments.  Other funds are raised through donations from members, local residents, and visitors to San Miguel. We also receive additional funding from other active charities in San Miguel and from foundations.