The expedition group was made up of both Mexican and Canadian participants. 

From Mexico we had personnel from the Department of Health - Caravanas de la Salud, of the social services wing of the department. It is a mobile medical unit (medical and dental) made up of 3 - 4 WD trucks that head out twice a month to administer health care to remote communities, only accessible by 4 wheel drive, in southern Baja. Our goal was to add to this 5 other communities only accessible by sea. A total of 7 communities we would visit. 

Dr. Garcia, the senior doctor, had put together a team of medical doctors, dentists, nurses, an Optometrist and one translator.  

The Canadian participants consisted of 3 nurses, 2 certified dental assistants, one Chiropractor and 4 "construction builders".

This journey experienced by all of us, together, has forever changed our lives. Both Mexican and Canadian participants.

Imelda Perdomo Castro (nurse)









Dr. Jorge Garcia Pinzon (Dentist)







Dr. Luis Berber




Our translator to whom we will always be indebted to.  



Melissa Garcia Avalos
(Dr. Garcia's beautiful daughter and trip translator)

Today is the last day of this journey of giving... I’m very sad but at the same time I’m happy that I had the opportunity to come to this trip and share things with this amazing people. They all have been very kind and sweet with the people in Mexico and I’m so grateful for that. I hope we can get to do this every year because is a wonderful and humble thing to do.

Thank you Lela and Stasia for giving me the opportunity to make new friends and for letting me be part of this journey of giving... I will never forget this adventure!

Melissa

Jan Van Someren (nurse) 

When we first started to talk about doing a “medical trip” about a year ago, the idea was to “give back to the people of Mexico”, I had no idea I would take home more than I could possibly “give”. Working with the Mexican medical staff and the Canadians who came together on this trip has to be the most wonderful experience of my Nursing career. 

Assisting the Mexican Doctors, doing simple procedures such as Blood Pressures, Glucometer checks, and simply finding the correct medication to dispense, communicating through a spanish/english dictionary, a few words and a lot of hand signals proved to be very effective and most appreciated by the patients we were serving (not to mention caused a lot of laughter between us all). 

To watch the smiles on the peoples faces as they tried on a pair of old, used prescription glasses and could see clearly, was amazing. To see the Doctor tend to her patient sitting at one end of a kitchen table and a dental procedure taking place at the other end of the table while the family dog looked on as he lay beneath the table with his chin on the Doctors foot, was amazing. To watch an ultrasound of a newly pregnant woman and see the tears of happiness of the people and a few community members peeking in at the u/s screen, was amazing. To see the children with big smiles on their faces run around with a soccer ball or playing with a frizbee or doing a craft for the first time was amazing. 

Sharing this experience with our new found Mexican and Canadian friends is an experience I will keep with me forever, and I only hope that others will be able to share in this experience and that we can continue to expand on this truly wonderful experience. 

Thank You Panterra!

Jan

Riny Van Someren (builder)

This trip was a great experience. We were able to help the local people in a very real way and as a bonus got to know some really super people, enjoy the beautiful scenery, and see amazing wildlife. 

Seeing the gratitude of the people for building a simple palapa for them was heartwarming. Then to see the affect of the medical services was even more touching. The big smile when someone put on a pair of glasses and was able to see again; or had a tooth fixed; or had aches and pains relieved by chiropractic work; or had ailments and concerns eased by the doctors. It was amazing. 

The icing on the cake was providing toys and gifts to the children of these small communities. The smiles and laughter brought by a simple thing like blowing bubbles ... 

I can’t say enough about the other people on this trip. Their genuine concern for the local people and willingness to do anything they could to help them; their high spirits and friendliness. There was a great sense of camaraderie that made the trip fun. And, of course, there were the beaches, the desert, the mountains, and the ocean to enjoy on the off hours. Whales, sea lions, dolphins, birds and fish were all there for us. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat. 

Riny

The chance to be part of this years “Journey of Giving” has been an amazing experience.  We always find such gratification in giving to communities in little ways – but, to be part of a team that was bringing health and well-being in a bigger way is awe inspiring.  We really weren’t sure what our part would be in the project, as we are not medical or dental professionals.  We did want to contribute in whatever way we could though.  

This is our 5th trip to the Baja with Panterra, and with each visit we experience just how beautiful the people here are, both inside and out.   Each day was a different project – palapas, double roofed palapas, walls, benches, gifts, sharing with the people.  After each day, it was like wow, that was a great day, and we felt like we had given something to these amazing people.  Even if it was a bench that was too big, not square, uneven.  The community thought it was perfect.  

The highlight for us was our last day with the children.  When children are part of the mix, you feel that there is life everywhere.  We had young and old, and that is exactly what life is about – families, working and sharing together in good times and bad.  We felt like we were in a movie or television show, these just weren’t things that we see on a day to day basis, or ever for that matter.  We have been blessed to have met Lela and to have become part of the Panterra family.  Each of our children have come away from a trip to the Baja with life changing experiences that will stay with them as they journey through their own lives.  I know that giving back will always be a part of who we are. We hope that someday when our loved ones are no longer with us that Heaven can be a little bit like the amazing beauty and peacefulness that we have experienced on this trip to the Sea of Cortez.

Bob, Liz and Liam

 


Louise Sauve (nurse)

I would like to thank Lela and Stasia from the bottom of my heart for the chance of a life time. To experience the most precious people of Mexico; it is really a “Journey of Giving”, not only of what we can give to these people but the giving in return of smiles and hugs and true gratitude. Special thanks to the crew as well. Thank you for giving me the best holiday ever!

Louise

Just to add a short note to everything that Craig mentioned.... I want to express my heartfelt thanks to Lela, Stasia, the crew and all of the volunteers on the boat. The friends that we made on this journey will be forever in our lives and I thank them all from the bottom of my heart for the best experience of my life. This was a very emotional but truly rewarding journey to be a part of. To be able to help the people of Mexico that need it the most was an incredibly amazing experience. I have never performed dentistry on a beach, in a baseball hat, with a dog sleeping under the table, but it didn’t lessen the experience one bit. The fact that we were able to repair teeth and not extract them on this trip was amazing for us and for the people. I loved every minute of it. Thank you to everyone again...from the bottom of my heart!!

Anna Kajda-Minett, Vancouver, BC 2009

Kraeg Minett (builder)

Pulling together this many people and having it come off looking like there was no effort is a challenge unto itself and participating in a charitable event where you can see the results of every dollar donated is very rare, but that’s what we saw here. Well done Lela.

Craig Minett, Vancouver, 2009

Dr. Christopher Chung (Chiropractor)

Today is day 5 of our journey and we’re heading back to La Paz. This experience for me has been absolutely beautiful. To have been given the opportunity to serve the people we did on this trip and to have seen all that the Sea of Cortez has to offer, is something I will never forget.

My travel companions were excited for me to see dolphins as I mentioned that I would probably start crying if I did. I didn’t cry at the sight of dolphins but thinking about all the great people that I was lucky enough to share this with and of course, the fantastic crew on the Narval, brings a tear to my eye.

Thank you Sergio, Guillermo, Eleazar, Captain Martin, Ester, Paloma, Stasia and Lela. This Journey of Giving has changed my life forever and I will always remember your kindness and hospitality.

Chris

 


Lucas Zimmerman (recent nursing graduate)

The Journey of Giving was an experience unlike any other.  The feeling of satisfaction was a reward unlike any I have ever felt before.  I will never forget this trip or the people involved in making it happen.  I went without knowing anyone and I came out with a boat load of friends.  The people and the culture of the Baja is something that I wish every individual could take part in, and I only hope that I will get the chance to participate in this adventure again. 

Lucas

This has truly been the adventure of a lifetime. One of the many wonderful aspects of this journey has been the many new friendships that have developed, and hearing many intriguing stories about others and their lives. 

It has been full of learning, adapting, and achieving mutual goals while in turn helping each unique community in a way that will be forever remembered. For me personally, working with our dental team of three girls with no suction or running water while having the time of our lives doing it was amazing. The look on one little boy’s face as Edna gave him a “glove balloon” after not only extracting a tooth but restoring another will be forever engraved in my heart. 

The nights on the bow of the ship relaxing together with some beers further developed our newly acquired friendships. The wildlife brought this adventure to a whole new level..... holding the colors of the Baja in my hand (stones of the ocean) and having a butterfly land on them while gazing out over the glass of an ocean made me realize that I have been blessed. 

Witnessing a brand new sea lion pup and mother interact and watching my beloved Blue Footed Boobies dance with each other, then returning to the boat only to see whales and dolphins in front of the boat has rounded out this magical adventure. 

So many beautiful people have been involved in changing, completing, and mentoring many people’s lives and hearts. It has been a true privilege to have been a part of this journey! Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Michelle Guiguet, CDA

The favorite part of my work with Panterra has always been interacting with the people we meet in the small communities along the way. The experience on this trip, with these beautiful, happy people, blew everything out of the water for me. Keep in mind, I had a different role in this whole project. I was part time translator (very bad Spanish but seemed to do the trick where needed), part time photographer, part time gopher, part time ship to shore communicator, part time group coordinator. I had many roles, and to be honest, most of the time I felt like I was doing nothing but there was nothing I could do but sit and wait. During the waiting time I was able to observe interactions between the doctors, dentists, dental assistance, nurses, and the builders with each other and with the members of the communities we visited. Using body language, sign language, broken Spanish, bad English and Spanglish, everyone was able to communicate with each other. A lot of times there were blushing faces, awkward laughter, but always, always there was happiness.

It is amazing that providing heath care, something that we have at our fingertips and possibly take for granted our access to in Canada, had such a huge impact on these people. I knew it would have an impact, but seeing the faces of the people and watching them walk up the beaches to the clinics, in their Sunday best, little kids and parents hand in hand, the family canine at their heels, the tears of joy for the new glasses or the first image of new baby on the ultrasound machine, the warm embraces that were exchanged between family members, that was truly an amazing sight. I could feel in my heart how much appreciation these people had for us and our services. Then there were the side missions. Lela was pulled on more than one occasion to a family home for someone who needed a wheelchair, a walker, a prosthetic limb or little bit of money to get to the city for treatment of an ailment. These visits were almost always extremely emotional. These people have very little, and the smallest things that we could provide them were life changing.

Another aspect of this trip for me was getting to know the Canadian and the Mexican team members. All of us from different backgrounds, different cities, with one commonality, we were there to provide assistance to these people. It could have been a disaster trying to put together so many different personalities, but, and it was clear from day one, everyone bonded to each other in such an amazing way, that the trip could be nothing but successful.

Then there is this business of cousin Lucas. Lucas, Pelucas. I knew everyone would like my cousin, but I did not expect them to love my cousin. It became Cousin Lucas and Lucas's cousin... what's her name again? All joking aside, I was so happy to be able to get to know Lucas again on such an amazing trip. We always spent lots of time together when we were kids but not much now that we are adults. I realize how similar we are; among other things, we love to laugh and we are both very clumsy. Lucas, you were an amazing help on the day of the trip while everyone was trying to get to Mexico, you were sweating it out with us in 40 degree heat as we ran around La Paz getting the final supplies for the journey. Thank you for your help, for being such a hard worker and for being a great guy!

I will admit, I was nervous before the trip began, I did not know what to expect, I think I can safely say that we were all in the same boat there. What I witnessed during the three days of health care administration, was something more powerful than words could ever explain. This journey will no doubt remain in my heart and the hearts of all who participated. I look back on this trip and think about the special bond that has formed between all of the participants on both the Mexican and Canadian sides. I look forward to going back to those communities next year, on our high school and junior high school trips to see what the people have to say about you all. What an amazing way to end my 2009 Panterra season. Thank you all for being so incredibly amazing. I miss you all already!

A special note to Lela: I watched you sweat at the beginning of this year when we were still looking for nurses and dental assistants to participate in this program. I watched you sweat this year when the swine flu almost terminated the rest of the Panterra season, to include this trip that you had been working so hard on. I just want to say, you should be so proud of what you have done, what Panterra has done for these people. You are like a guardian angel to them, whether you want that or not. And when no one else thought of doing this, to give back to these people, you did it! This little idea from Jan, turned huge because you acted on it! I am so happy to have been a part of this project. Thank you for believing in me and my abilities over the years with Panterra and thank you for being such an amazing person. 

Panterra has been my baby for 23 years. I have done some brilliant things with it, had some heart warming cultural interactions and met some amazing people. This trip, by far, is my most amazing accomplishment to date. We administered healthcare to over 250 community  members, isolated by the rugged terrain of the Sierra Gigante Mountains. We built 2 palapas and transformed a simple one room brick building into a medical clinic. We watched the hearts smile of each of the beautiful Mexican community members we came in contact with. I kid you not, when I say each day ended in tears of joy. 

The first community, Portuguese, the fishermen treated us to lunch, stingray ceviche caught and made fresh that day. They cooked fresh tortillas using the sea water to mix with the flour. As we all stood around enjoying our lunch my heart was smiling. It was one of those moments in life that you will always remember and cherish. How simple a lunch to say thank you can impact your heart!

The next stop was Isla Pardito, a tiny rock island with a community of 20 people. I have known the families for over a decade if not two. Years ago a hurricane blew their palapa away and they needed government approval to rebuild. Through this project we were finally able to rebuild the old palapa. 

In San Evaristo, it was a great honor to build a medical clinic that will be maintained by a couple of woman in the community. The clinic will assist the Caravanas de la Salud vans when they visit.

Nopolo, Las Cuevas and Punta Alto are communities that I have recently gotten to know. In one of the communities a woman had burned both her arms badly and I had administered first aid a week previous but she needed to see a doctor. She was able to have her burns properly cared for. In Punta Alto a young woman and her husband were able to confirm she was pregnant. The community was ecstatic.

In Los Burros, an elderly woman had face cancer but was not able to afford treatment let alone money for transportation to La Paz. Monies raised from the expedition took care of her travel costs and expenses and Dr. Garcia promised the healthcare. It was such a touching moment when both Dr. Garcia (on behalf of the Dept. of Health in La Paz) and I (on behalf of the expedition) partnered to offered the opportunity to this beautiful elderly woman, Maria Louisa. 

For me every day experienced on this trip was indeed a blessing. But the greatest blessing of all was meeting the kindest, gentlest person I have ever met,  Dr Humberto Garcia.

I would like to extend my deepest thanks to Stasia for her thoughts, ideas, for her picking up the slack and helping me to keep Panterra always in forward motion. It has been brilliant working with you and your photography has been a great contribution in helping us keep the memories of this journey alive in our hearts. 

This expedition could not have been successful without each and every participant, Mexican and Canadian alike, experienced or recently graduated. We were a team, an amazing team of dedicated, caring people. Thank you all for your help in making a dream come true. YAY!!!!!

Special thanks to Jan Van Someren who was the inspiration in getting this project started. It will be an annual event for as long as Panterra exists... perhaps for another 23 years!

Monetary Contributions received from:

Liz and Bob Tinworth

Jan and Riny Someren

Anna Kajda

Craig Minett

Chris Chung

Harfield and French Orthodontics

Timber Trails 4H Club

Livingstone School 

Aurora Charter School

Panterra Educational and Cultural Training Society


Thank you for your generous donation. The materials purchased with 

your contribution made a difference in the lives of the people of the Baja.