November • 2016 • No. 19
Ricardo Bayón, a longtime Boy Scout, wanted to do something bigger than building park benches in The Woodlands where he lives for his Eagle Scout Community Service Project. He just didn’t know what that was -- until his father told him about Medical Bridges and its mission. “I made an appointment with Medical Bridges to see how they could help me; soon after, we officially launched the project,” 17-year-old Ricardo said.
A year and a half later, Ricardo is close to realizing his plans to help build a palliative care room for children with terminal diseases in the Hospital del Niño in Hidalgo, Mexico, and send a shipment of medical supplies and equipment with assistance from Medical Bridges. Ricardo, who moved to Houston with his parents nine years ago, was born in Toluca, Mexico. “Since I am from Mexico, my motivation was to help people in need in Mexico. Here, in the United States, there are a lot of resources, more access to them and fewer people in need.” Although Ricardo’s father has contacts in Mexico, getting the project off the ground wasn’t easy. “When we started planning a project to benefit Mexico, we knocked on many doors there; it was very difficult to set an arrangement because of the distance,” the 11th-grader said. “Then, Mrs. Lolita Parkinson, the former consul general of Mexico in Houston, introduced us to Mrs. Rocio Tello, a congresswoman in the state of Hidalgo. She told us about the Hospital del Niño, where they had been trying to implement a palliative care room for children with terminal diseases. They weren’t able to carry out the project because the government assigns a very small amount to the annual budget. After connecting with Mrs.Tello, plans began to fall into place,” Ricardo said. .
To raise funds for the project, Ricardo set up an online crowd-funding campaign where some funds were raised, but not as much as he’d hoped. “The bulk of the funds raised came from making personal phone calls and by giving out cards to many people and encouraging them to donate,” he said. Ricardo, like many who immigrate to the United States, considers himself fortunate. That sentiment is what partly fueled his drive to envision such a big project. “We are fortunate to have the opportunity. We have access to many high quality things, often better than those you’ll ever find anywhere else; sometimes we take them for granted. We think that they are supposed to be there and that we will never lose them. But for so many people abroad, things are not the same. We see healthcare as an ordinary benefit, for example. Many people in developing countries suffer a great deal and can’t get medical treatment as easy and as good as we do in the U.S.”
That’s what makes his partnership with Medical Bridges such a good one. “I would like more people to know about the work this organization does and to understand that Medical Bridges truly cares about contributing to the world,” Ricardo said. “They are amazing. I’m really surprised by everything they do.” Such compliments could also describe Ricardo. Representing the Boy Scouts of America in the best possible way, he believes it’s his duty to give back to the community and help people – in this case, dying children – in need. “This project is just a small part, compared to everything this world needs,” Ricardo said. His hard work is almost done. “The trailer is about to leave from Houston to Pachuca, Hidalgo,” he said. “It will probably get there by the end of November.”
2706 Magnet Street, Houston, TX 77054 www.medicalbridges.org (+1) 713-748-8131