Opening The Eyes Of Mexico - The Crystal Foundation Mission
Though it’s hard for most of us to imagine, think for a moment what life would be like without
access to quality medical care. Living with pain and disease is a way of life for people in many countries, and
one of our closest neighbors, Mexico, is wrought with some of the worst poverty and scarcity in the world.
To help improve the quality of life for a small village in the Copper
Canyon Region of Mexico, Rotarian Walter Branson, physicians,
surgeons, and a host of volunteers donate time each year to travel to
Guerrero, Chihuahua, Mexico to provide much needed medical services
to those less fortunate.
The Crystal Foundation, a non-profit corporation, was formed by
Dr. R. Scott Yarish, a plastic surgeon from Lake Jackson, Texas, after
he made several mission trips to Mexico. Through a grant from Rotary
International and a lot of help, Dr. Tom Pruett built a mobile surgery
center – a camper pulled by a box truck – which served to carry supplies
and provide a recovery room.
For several years they drove around the mountainous villages, using
donated equipment and a host of volunteer doctors and assistants. The
Mexican people offered homes for them to stay in, with some of them
being converted into makeshift operating rooms to accommodate the
masses of people waiting for medical care.
“We consistently have lines of over 100 people waiting to see our
doctors,” Walter says. “Some of them walk for over 20 miles in hundred
degree heat and wait for days to have surgery.”
The majority of the people served by the Crystal Foundation have
eye problems – mostly cataracts. “There is a large incident of cataracts
in this region,” Walter says. “No one really knows why. Many of these
people are nearly blind when they come to us. When they leave, they
can see again for the first time in 10 – 15 years.”
Dr. Greg Clariday became involved with the Crystal Foundation
in the spring of 2003. “I was really
looking for some way to give and to
be of some help,” he says. “When I
found the Crystal Foundation it was
the answer to my prayers.”
Dr. Clariday is now the Head of
Ophthalmology for the missions to
Mexico. A typical trip involves about
50-60 people: Four ophthalmologists,
(two Americans and two Mexicans), eight optometrists, two dentists,
two opticians, nurses, and volunteers, including Dr. Clariday’s staff.
Each doctor typically performs 30-40 procedures every day during their
weeklong visit. Everyone gives freely of their own time and talent, but
the rewards are great. Though they don’t make any money for their
services, they receive something even better.
“If you go to the clinic one time, you’ll understand,” Walter says. “The
appreciation of these people, who have nothing, is amazing. There are no
real barriers between us and them. We overcome language and culture
with the love that they feel and express to us. This is the true meaning
of love and it makes me want to give more and more and to work with
these people again and again.”
The majority of the volunteers keep going back, saying it touches
their hearts in a way they can’t explain with words. “This clinic has
brought tears to my eyes so many times,” Walter says. “And I’m not an
emotional guy!”
When the mobile trailer and the box truck finally fell apart, the
Crystal Foundation found a way, through generous donations and gifts, to
build the facility they have today. The Guerrero Surgery and Education
Center is a 7,000 square foot building that offers eye exams and surgical
procedures, glasses, general medicine and dentistry. Over $2,000,000 a
year in free medical services are provided.
This Rotary service has grown tremendously since its beginnings, and
has now been joined by other Rotary Districts throughout the U.S. and
Mexico. The Secretary of Health in the State of Chihuahua says that
these clinics provide over sixty percent of the indigent care for the State
of Chihuahua. Over 2,500 patients are served in an
average four-day clinic.
Though many are served, many are turned away.
The Crystal Foundation relies on generous donations
of time, talent, medical supplies, and money to
continue its missions in Mexico.
If you would like to be a part of the good works of
this committed group, contact Walter Branson, Vice
President of the Crystal Foundation at:
The Crystal Foundation
A NON-PROFIT CORPORATION
UNDER 501 (C) 3
P.O. Box 1566
Lake Jackson, TX 77566
Ph: 979-297-1970
Fax: 979-297-6658
walter@bransonconstruction.com
Article Source: Change Magazine, September 2006 by Carla Medlenka, photos by Marilyn Brodwick |
