Two San Miguel de Allende Rotary Clubs have joined forces to create a permanent program to provide free LN4 prosthetic hands to people in Mexico who need them. Applicants need only sign up and provide proof that they need a hand. 

The LN4 prosthetic hand is low-cost, lightweight, durable, and functional. Ernie Meadows, Michael Mendonca and Maurice LeBlanc, an award-winning mechanical engineer specializing in assistive technology with a special interest in upper limb prosthetics, worked to develop this hand that can be manufactured cheaply while maintaining a high level of quality.

To apply for it, those interested must register at https://linktr.ee/Rotaract.SMA or call 415-108-2941. if the application is approved, follow-up will be by phone. As soon as there are 25 approved applicants, they will be invited to an event for receiving, fitting, training and maintenance.

After years of testing, the resulting hand was named the LN4 prosthetic hand in honor of Meadow’s deceased daughter Ellen. In 2006, Meadows donated this prosthetic hand to Rotary friends through the Ellen Meadows Prosthetic Hand Foundation specifying that no one could profit from production or distribution and that recipients would not be charged.
 
For this device to be successful, recipients must have 14 cm. of residual limb below the elbow as measured from the tip of the elbow to the tip of the remaining arm. In addition, there can be no fingers, thumb, or wrist left. Finally, the arm should be flexible and fully healed.
 
LN4 ambassadors have worn these prostheses in almost every corner of the world, in more than 90 countries, including Colombia, Ecuador, Vietnam, India, Jordan, Uganda, Tanzania and others.
 
The LN4 Foundation announced, "We want all people who require a prosthetic hand to have it regardless of their socioeconomic level or ability to pay. We manufacture a durable rudimentary prosthetic hand without electrical parts and, with the help of our partners, distribute it worldwide."

The program will seek to synergize with NGOs for constant promotion of the program, in addition to the Felipe G. Dobarganes General Hospital in SMA, CAISES, secretariats, physiotherapy clinics and doctors.

With this project, the Midday Rotary of SMA is celebrating 18 years of internationally acclaimed service in conjunction with Rotaract SMA, the club for younger Rotarians. Together they are looking for beneficiaries for the prosthetic hands.
 
"It is very gratifying to have people from all over the world visit us and express their amazement at what this small club has accomplished," said Midday Rotary Club President Joe Ruffino, who shared that this has brought growth to the club and the satisfaction of what multicultural membership is bringing to Mexico.
 
He announced that the LN4 team includes psychologists and therapists who will provide any additional support required. Additionally, he concluded, "We want many people and families to benefit from this program as possible, and we will always be there to help our community in San Miguel de Allende and beyond."

For more information, please complete the form on the right and you will be contacted.

Supporting blood drives is important for several reasons, as it has a significant positive impact on individuals, communities, and the healthcare system as a whole. Here are some compelling reasons why people should support blood drives:

• 1. **Lifesaving Potential:** Blood donations save lives.  Without an adequate supply of blood, these medical interventions become riskier or even impossible.
• 2. **Emergency Preparedness:** Blood is needed in emergencies, such as natural disasters, accidents, and mass casualties.
• 3. **Patients with Chronic Conditions:** Many people with chronic medical conditions, such as sickle cell disease, require regular blood transfusions to manage their conditions. 
• 4. **Cancer Patients:** Blood and platelet transfusions are often necessary for individuals undergoing chemotherapy and radiation therapy. 
• 5. **Surgical Procedures:** Surgeries, both routine and complex, often require blood transfusions. Donated blood is crucial for ensuring safe surgical outcomes.
• 6. **Maternal and Neonatal Care:** Complications during childbirth may necessitate blood transfusions for both mothers and infants. 
• 7. **Blood Disorders:** Individuals with blood disorders like hemophilia rely on regular blood donations to receive clotting factors and other necessary treatments.

In summary, supporting blood drives is a simple yet impactful way to contribute to the well-being of individuals and communities. It is a selfless act that can save lives, improve the health of those in need, and strengthen the resilience of healthcare systems.

In the rural communities surrounding San Miguel, open defecation is widely practiced simply because there are no alternatives. Merely building toilets is not necessarily the answer to the problems caused by open defecation as, more often than not, the facilities fall into disuse and disrepair. This is an issue that Rotarians have faced in worldwide as they have tried to address the lack of sanitation.

Our Dry Composting Toilet Project has helped provide hundreds of families with better facilities.

On Monday, September 25, 2023, SMA Rotarians visited several communities in Charco Araujo to celebrate the completion of a new sanitario ecologica seco (dry composting toilet) on September 25th.

“These women are excellent workers!” declared Abel Sauste, CEDESA technician.

“In no time, they can mix cement, lay bricks—anything we need to build toilets and cisterns.”

​The women said, “We didn’t hire someone, we did it ourselves.”.

SMA Rotarians joined several communities in Charco Araujo to celebrate the completion of a new sanitario ecologica seco (dry composting toilet).

​They gaily decorated, stout little building just outside a family’s house is more than a toilet—it is a fortress against danger and disease that changes lives.

The women talked to us about the new toilet:

• “We didn’t know how, but we learned and we did it.”
• “I see my house differently now that we have a bathroom.”
• “Now it’s safe at night to use this bathroom instead of going somewhere outside.”
• “It is completely odor-free!”

Please add your comments below.

"All we are saying, is give peace a chance" 

Never has our world needed peace more, so on International Peace Day, Thursday, September 21, San Miguel's three Rotary Clubs hosted a peace event at the Peace Pole in Parque Juarez.  Presenters included members of the San Miguel Municipality, the US Consul's Office and the three local Rotary Clubs.

Greg Estavane of Mid-Day Rotary and Xochitl Zumaya Mejia of the Spanish-speaking Rotary Club and Rotaract used this occasion to bring together Sanmiguelenses to celebrate our day of peace.

Alicia Mayo, Otomi shaman, blessed the event.

Fred Collins introduced speakers and sponsors of the event. Speakers emphasized how they and their organizations support world peace as expressed by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres:

"Peace is needed today more than ever. War and conflict are unleashing devastation, poverty, and hunger, and driving tens of millions of people from their homes. Climate chaos is all around. And even peaceful countries are gripped by gaping inequalities and political polarization."

• Luis Miguel Garcia, SMA municipal director for prevention of delinquency
• Jesus Mercadillo and son, SMA Firemen
• Lety Fernandez, CEO of SMA Red Cross
• Representatives from Jovenes Adelante
• Paulina Gallardo, SMA Councilwoman
• Erika Montes, U.S. Consular Agent
• Jose Marcos Gonzalez Gomez, Rotary 4140 District Assistant Governor
• Jose Luis Mendoza, Weekly Magazine author

Future peacemakers, 46 children from the Escuela Primaria Nigromante listened attentively and presented art work and letters that will be preserved in the time capsule in the Peace Pole.

​Final blessings, Dan Lessner, Lay Leader of Kahilla Shalom SMA, JC3/CHESMA la comunidad Hebrew SMA.

By Eddie Colbeth

​​On Saturday, September 9th, Carla Cardena led 9 Rotarians and friends on an adventure to the campo to inaugurate 13 cisterns from the communities of La Niveña, El Rufigio, and Cerro Blanco. There were more than 50 folks from 4 generations of the communities in attendance. We were greeted by smiling faces, and everyone had gone beyond expectations with decorations and hospitality. There was a wall of photos, balloons, streamers, and knitted gifts. Our hosts set up large shade structures, tables, and chairs.
​
The cistern building teams did presentations, a poetry reading, and a line dance! The builders all received diplomas from our partner, CEDESA. The teams created knitted gifts, from miniatures to pots of flowers and needlepoint. The quality and quantity of food they prepared with love, warmed our hearts. The gratitude that these communities expressed was overwhelming. For many builders, it was their first time speaking in public. Now, these folks have fresh, safe water for generations to come, and they’ve learned the power of communities working together. It’s humbling to watch Rotary in action!

by Jill Noack
 
Back in July, I volunteered at the Wheelchair project that Club Rotario sponsored, and it was truly an amazing experience!
 
From the moment that I arrived at the event site, I knew that what we were about to do would forever change the lives of the children that we were going to help.
 
Just the sight of all of those wheelchair chariots awaiting their new little owners made me tear up, yet also filled me with joy!
 
And then, the children began to arrive - little ones, older ones, happy ones, crying ones, curious ones, ones who were carried on their parents’ backs because they had no other means of transportation.
 
I had the privilege of handing each child a stuffed animal to play with while they were awaiting their turns. For me, it felt like Christmas and Three Kings’ Day all rolled into one and, I was the lucky one, who got to play Santa!
 
I’ll never forget one little guy who tore his ball cap off, whooped loudly, and started wheeling, himself around the basketball court. It looked like a moment of sheer joy for him to finally feel that he had gained some independence in his life.  And, what a privilege, to have witnessed his life-changing triumph that day!
 
That one event sealed the deal for me that it was the right decision to become a Rotarian again.

The three San Miguel de Allende Rotary and Rotaract Clubs were honored to host the District 4140 breakfast this past Saturday. About 170 Rotarians and Rotaract members were present to hear talks that focused on community projects, how projects are funded and monitored by Rotary International and growing membership. 

There was also an opportunity for clubs to showcase their ongoing projects that are having a positive impact in the community. Our Midday club showcased the school for deaf students (EESMA), the water projects (cisterns and dry composting toilets), and the Girls Empowerment project. At the end of the meeting the Girls Empowerment Project was recognized by the District and awarded a certificate along with a prize of 5,000 MXN.

Please leave your comments below!