One thing that is very evident here in Mexico is how important family is, it is the heart of the country. Parents deeply love their children and want to provide the best possible future for them, this being what brings people from all over Mexico to Los Cabos in search of a more fruitful future. The result is some very humble beginnings. People come from other parts of Mexico hearing of the opportunity to start a new, more abundant life in Cabo. It is true that there are many jobs to be had here and the quality of life is better then in many other parts of the country, but the fact of the matter is that not everyone is flourishing as they expected. As you take one turn off the strip of luxury resorts you are quickly faced with the reality of what life is life for many local people.
This gives professionals like Michael Rensink, MD, an ENT (Ear Nose and Throat) physician, and Jim O’Hara, an audiologist the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others. The team started coming to Cabo twice a year starting back in 1992. Over the last two+ decades, they have witnessed the evolution of the Amigos De Los Ninos foundation and continue to support the cause. Thier intention, along with the intention of Amigos is to provide free medical care to local children in need, that would otherwise not have access.
The doctors shared with me that over the years of coming to Cabo to provide free audiology clinics, the clinic locations have been questionable at times, but were the best they had to work with. There was a time when they and their patients had to walk around the block to find a restroom. That fact never stopped them from fitting well over 300 hearing aides over the years, giving parents the ability to show their children the unconditional love they have and giving many children the opportunity to change the course of their future. Many of the children they see today are special needs cases that no other doctors are willing to see. For some of the patients, the parents are coming as a last effort, being directed from one social assistance program to another trying to find what is stifling their child’s development. I witnessed one desperate mother with a two-inch thick folder of her sons medical documents containing no answers…yet.
With the completion of the new building project, there is now a space that is clean, safe and comfortable to serve the families of the community. Not only is the new space great for the doctors, but it also pleasant, bright, and equip with toys for the sometimes frightened children. Amigos De Los Ninos welcomes needy families with open arms willing and able to help, with the assistance of kind professionals like Michael Rensink, Jim O’Hara and many more. The audiology programs that have been able to exist here in Los Cabos over the last 2+ decades are thanks to more foreign and local donors then we can list and Amigos is forever grateful.
Details of the first Audiology Clinic of 2016:
Saw 27 kids
Distributed 10 hearing aids
8 ear molds for November clinic
3 audio tests
27 cleanings
$18000 in-kind donations yearly
$4000 for 20 hearing aids purchased by ADLN
We are so very grateful to all the donors and volunteers who allow us to do what we do for the children of Los Cabos. Thank you from all of us at Amigos De Los Ninos, patience, board of directors and support staff for your continuous and generous support.
