Working to cover what has become a chronic financial shortfall in the Chapala Red Cross delegation, the Damas (Ladies) and Juventud (Youth) auxiliary groups will be out in force Sunday, August 4, working hard to collect donations for the organization. This ‘extraordinary’ “colecta” (the usual one is held in the spring) will include, besides folks standing in traffic at busy intersections asking for your help, modules set up at Walmart and Soriana where tests for diabetes will be available.
Last year, Cruz Roja Chapala answered more than 1,800 ambulance calls — 231 of those from automobile accidents. The Chapala delegation ambulances cover calls from Ixtlahuacan and villages and towns along the north shore of Lake Chapala to Tuxcueca and Mazamitla on the south shore of the lake. They are often called for special rescue missions as they have the only “jaws of life” apparatus in the Lake Chapala basin. All of these calls cost the Red Cross money for gas, repairs and staff, and no fees are ever collected for them. There were about 300 calls wherein potential patients changed their minds and didn’t use the service…again, with no financial recovery for Cruz Roja.
The clinic saw 2,876 patients last year. They treated everything from scorpion stings, dog bites and sprained ankles to heart attacks. Six babies were born there, as well. Again, patients were presented with an accounting of the costs of medicines, treatments and x-rays; but many either were unable to reimburse the Cruz Roja or chose not to.
Those from north-of-the-border who are new to Lakeside should know that the organization here functions as an every day first-call service in an emergency. It’s not exclusive to providing service in disaster situations like that in the United States or Canada. Without it, those in distress would be hard-pressed to find help; so this weekend, keep you eyes peeled for the Damas and Juventudes who will be collecting on Sunday. You’ll know who they are by their Cruz Roja t-shirts and canisters.
If you would prefer, go on line to www.cruzrojalakeside.com. Click on “How to help” and go to “donate.” United States citizens and Canadians with earned income from the United States can receive a tax-deductible receipt. Dig deep. You need the Cruz Roja.