Important notes to spouses
Safety
There is always concern expressed by spouses who are not going
on the trip. While it is impossible to guarantee safety
on these trips, Dr. Psaltis wants to assure you of all the
following, which will hopefully set your mind at ease:
1. Dr. Psaltis takes his own wife each time and would not put
her (or your spouse) in harm's way. If it ever felt that it was
unsafe to travel to Cabo (for any of us) the project
would immediately be canceled.
2. The areas where groups stay in Cabo (whether at the RIU,
Medano Hotel or Playa Grande) are in the heavily touristed
sections of the city and very rarely does any form of danger or
violence occur there. The Mexican government wants to maintain
its tourism industry and has armed patrols out assuring this.
3. We, ourselves, have more shooting deaths in a greater variety
of venues than almost any other country on earth. There could
more concern about safety here in the USA than in Mexico.
Participation
While it is understandable to
have your children (or other family members) participate,
the Amigos de los Niños have set a firm policy that only
licensed professionals
can participate in the clinic setting. The clinic, itself,
is a small room that contains three dental chairs and a
sterilization area and there is really no extra room
whatsoever for more people.
The other factor is that if the local health department were
to come into the facility and find individuals working there
who are not genuinely trained dental personnel, it could
endanger the continuation of the clinic.
Come on down!
You might want to consider coming to Cabo with your family
anyway, since it is a wonderful vacation destination. There
is plenty to do for children and for yourself. All of the
principal housing locations have pools and many of the
tourist activities are easy to reach. There are glass bottom
boats, para-sailing, whale watching (depending on when you
come), ATV tours, zip lines and beaches (a couple of which
are NOT for swimming due to the dangerous undertow). In
short, it is a fabulous place to bring your family or just
come along by yourself for some R&R, tanning and great
food.
Further
questions
If you have any further questions, please write to Dr.
Psaltis at gpsaltis48@gmail.com. He will answer any
questions you have that remain, but you are very likely feel
as comfortable as others have when they were on the project.
More than 100 volunteers have been down there (most of them
women) and the consensus is that they have felt safe.