Fulton Rotarians heard about a service trip that one Fulton Rotary Club member went on.
Mary Ann Beahon went on the trip to Mexico in late November. She went alongside two members of the Rotary Club of Columbia.
The purpose of the trip was to visit service projects that have been funded together by the United States and Mexico, Beahon said.
Upon arrival in Mexico, Beahon and the Rotarians attended a welcome dinner hosted by the Rotary Club of Tlaquepaque Industrial.
The group then visited Guadalajara. One site visited there was Hospital Civil, where a new cancer ward is being built, Beahon said. Another site was Casa Hogar la Caridad.
Beahon and Rotarians visited a medical clinic and watched the delivery of a new hospital bed. The purchase of the bed was made possible through a grant, Beahon said.
Another site visited was a community center at Brazos de Amistad. This location serves meals and provides daycare services for local children.
The group traveled to Mexico City to attend a dinner with Mexican Rotarians, the Governor of District 4170 and Rotary International Director Elizabeth Usovicz.
They then went to Prepa 250. This is a school supported by the Rotary Club of Vallescondido, Beahon said.
Beahon and Rotarians were able to meet Beatriz Holtz. She donated her kidney to her late husband, Ignacio Holtz. This marked the start of a program that would later be called the Holtz-Beahon Kidney Transplant Program, Beahon said.
The program was started in honor of Holtz and Mike Beahon, who died of kidney failure in 2014.
The Holtz-Beahon Kidney Transplant Program has saved over 2,000 lives, Beahon said.
At a lunch, the Rotary group heard from local kidney recipients and donors. One of the speakers was a young man who received a kidney donation from his brother, Beahon said.
After meeting Holtz, Beahon traveled to School Primaria Felipe Carrillo Puerto. The group heard about a Rotary Club of Lindavista project to refurbush the school bathrooms, Beahon said.
On the last day of the Rotary trip, the group went to Xochimilco. They attended a lunch hosted by the Tlalpan Golf Rotary Club. Beahon was able to get an early preview of a book the club is making. The book is about empowering young girls, Beahon said.
The trip ended with a visit to Quinta Carmelita, a foster care home and orphanage.
"It was a very unique trip, and very eye-opening," Beahon said.
She added that this is an annual trip, and any Rotarian is welcome to come next year.