THE EARLY YEARS OF AMIGOS IN APASEO AND LATER WORK WITH THE LION’S CLUB’S “FIRST SIGHT PROGRAM”
By Dr. Florencio Cabrera
In 1961 a “gringo”, Mario Carota, with his wife, Estela, and 17 children arrived in an old “flecha” (bus) at the “Rancheria” of Obrajuelo (township of Apaseo el Grande) with the purpose of doing things for the love of God. They arrived from California with no money but with a great desire of doing things for the poor. The people were asking for a school, sports and medical attention. As a result, they went to the mayor of Apaseo, Enrique Oliveros, who got in touch with Florencio to attend to patients who needed medical attention, especially children. One day, Mario took a baby who was severely malnourished, who needed mother’s milk, as the mother didn’t have any, to Florencio. Estela, who was nursing her own baby offered to nurse this little one and gave her own baby formula.
A deep friendship grew between them and Florencio, Nacho and Coletta Estrella. Upon his return to California, Mario got in touch with Fr. Joe and that’s how the Amigos started in Apaseo and subsequently in the area.
In the summer of 1963 a group of 13 college students, all girls, arrived in Apaseo after a long bus trip from Tijuana and were received by families there. The leaders of the project, Kay Leppert and Carolyn Brady, stayed with Nacho and Coletta. With the support of the pastor, Sr. Cura Efren Flores, they began to set up the school in La Villita, a library in the church, and a dispensary. This is where Florencio (nicknamed, “Flo Baby” by Barbara Brandy) entered the scene, as he was put in charge of the dispensary and served as intermediary with the municipal government and the community, ass well as giving medical care to the “gringas” when they got sick especially with Montezumas revenge. At the end of the 1963 project, Fr. Joe arrived.
At the same time, a group of boys and girls set up a project in Jesus del Monte near Morelia, and they frequently visited Apaseo. IN 1964, there was a hepatitis epidemic which Florencio took care of.
At the end of the 1963 project, the school, now working, was left in the hands of young women from the town who had been collaborating with the Amigos. Most of the Amigos returned to California, except a few, including Kay, who stayed on to rest up for a week. At this point the “understanding” began between Flo and Day, and continued by mail (no e-mail at that time) upon her return to California. In December of 1963, nacho and Florencio went to California, Nacho to Berkeley where a4 girls from Apaseo where visiting, and Florencio went to spend Christmas with Kay’s family in Altadena. They then flew to San Francisco and Berkeley to join the group there. On Dec. 28th, “dia de los inocentes”, (which is Mexico’s April Fools’ Day) he proposed marriage. On Oct. 3rd of 1964, they were married in St. Elizabeth’s Church in Altadena. After the birth of their 2nd child, Robert [text missing]
The Amigos’ projects grew and grew in the following years. There were now students from Seattle to Los Angeles, and when Fr. Joe was sent to Boston, they were coming from there too. Kay and Flo helped to set up projects in more towns; Empalme Escobedo, Apaseo el Alto, San Bartolo, San Pedro Tenango, Tarimoro in Guanajuato. In addition, other projects were set up in Michoacan (Morelia, Jesus, Huandacareo, Copandero, Zamora, Yurecuaro, Tanuato, to name a few). During the summer of 1964 an outbreak of hepatitis began, probably in Jesus, and students flocked to Apaseo Hospital to be treated by Florencio. The next year there was an outbreak of Typhoid.
Upon his retirement from the Hospital after 32 years of service, Florencio began to dedicate himself to “service” in Lio9ns International. In 1992, he formed part of the SightFirst team in a seminar in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Two years later he was named chairperson for the program SightFirst of Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF). At the beginning the projects were small – 100 cataract operations in the poorest region of Chiapas for people who had no medical or economic means. Partnerships were created with the government health services and some NGOs and to date, more than 30,000 people have had their sight restored with funds from LCIF in the poorest areas of the country; and a similar number have been operated on through Lions Club initiatives who have carried out projects on their own. Since 2004, Florencio has been the intermediary with the Carter Center, directed by Jimmy Carter, (a Lions Club member with whom Florencio had the privilege of having lunch in Atlanta) for the elimination of river blindness in 13 areas of America, Brazil, Venezuela, Columbia, Ecuador, Guatemala and Mexico. Three years ago, the Hilton Foundation made an important donation to the WHO conjointly with the Mexican Government to finalize the elimination of Tracoma in Chiapas. The condition of this foundation is that LCIF, in this case Florencio, oversees the use of these funds. Since diabetes type 2 is related to the first cause of death in Mexico, Florencio and Dr. Salvador Guerra have implemented a plan of symposiums and workshops in all the country with the title, “Obesity – diabetes – Retinopathy”. Many of these plans, to be sure, have had obstacles, some of the very complicated, but with the grace of God, we have been able to solve them. In all of there projects my wife, Kay (Leppert) has been my number one collaborator.
Dr. Florencio Cabrera
Postscript: In 2011, Dr. Florencio received one of the Lions Club’s highest awards
for his many years of service to the poor and underserved throughout Latin America.
2nd Postscript: Kay Leppert Cabrera, who was with the 1963 Amigos group in Apaseo el Grande, died on February 3, 2019. Read more about Kay in the "In Mem." section of this website.
By Dr. Florencio Cabrera
In 1961 a “gringo”, Mario Carota, with his wife, Estela, and 17 children arrived in an old “flecha” (bus) at the “Rancheria” of Obrajuelo (township of Apaseo el Grande) with the purpose of doing things for the love of God. They arrived from California with no money but with a great desire of doing things for the poor. The people were asking for a school, sports and medical attention. As a result, they went to the mayor of Apaseo, Enrique Oliveros, who got in touch with Florencio to attend to patients who needed medical attention, especially children. One day, Mario took a baby who was severely malnourished, who needed mother’s milk, as the mother didn’t have any, to Florencio. Estela, who was nursing her own baby offered to nurse this little one and gave her own baby formula.
A deep friendship grew between them and Florencio, Nacho and Coletta Estrella. Upon his return to California, Mario got in touch with Fr. Joe and that’s how the Amigos started in Apaseo and subsequently in the area.
In the summer of 1963 a group of 13 college students, all girls, arrived in Apaseo after a long bus trip from Tijuana and were received by families there. The leaders of the project, Kay Leppert and Carolyn Brady, stayed with Nacho and Coletta. With the support of the pastor, Sr. Cura Efren Flores, they began to set up the school in La Villita, a library in the church, and a dispensary. This is where Florencio (nicknamed, “Flo Baby” by Barbara Brandy) entered the scene, as he was put in charge of the dispensary and served as intermediary with the municipal government and the community, ass well as giving medical care to the “gringas” when they got sick especially with Montezumas revenge. At the end of the 1963 project, Fr. Joe arrived.
At the same time, a group of boys and girls set up a project in Jesus del Monte near Morelia, and they frequently visited Apaseo. IN 1964, there was a hepatitis epidemic which Florencio took care of.
At the end of the 1963 project, the school, now working, was left in the hands of young women from the town who had been collaborating with the Amigos. Most of the Amigos returned to California, except a few, including Kay, who stayed on to rest up for a week. At this point the “understanding” began between Flo and Day, and continued by mail (no e-mail at that time) upon her return to California. In December of 1963, nacho and Florencio went to California, Nacho to Berkeley where a4 girls from Apaseo where visiting, and Florencio went to spend Christmas with Kay’s family in Altadena. They then flew to San Francisco and Berkeley to join the group there. On Dec. 28th, “dia de los inocentes”, (which is Mexico’s April Fools’ Day) he proposed marriage. On Oct. 3rd of 1964, they were married in St. Elizabeth’s Church in Altadena. After the birth of their 2nd child, Robert [text missing]
The Amigos’ projects grew and grew in the following years. There were now students from Seattle to Los Angeles, and when Fr. Joe was sent to Boston, they were coming from there too. Kay and Flo helped to set up projects in more towns; Empalme Escobedo, Apaseo el Alto, San Bartolo, San Pedro Tenango, Tarimoro in Guanajuato. In addition, other projects were set up in Michoacan (Morelia, Jesus, Huandacareo, Copandero, Zamora, Yurecuaro, Tanuato, to name a few). During the summer of 1964 an outbreak of hepatitis began, probably in Jesus, and students flocked to Apaseo Hospital to be treated by Florencio. The next year there was an outbreak of Typhoid.
Upon his retirement from the Hospital after 32 years of service, Florencio began to dedicate himself to “service” in Lio9ns International. In 1992, he formed part of the SightFirst team in a seminar in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Two years later he was named chairperson for the program SightFirst of Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF). At the beginning the projects were small – 100 cataract operations in the poorest region of Chiapas for people who had no medical or economic means. Partnerships were created with the government health services and some NGOs and to date, more than 30,000 people have had their sight restored with funds from LCIF in the poorest areas of the country; and a similar number have been operated on through Lions Club initiatives who have carried out projects on their own. Since 2004, Florencio has been the intermediary with the Carter Center, directed by Jimmy Carter, (a Lions Club member with whom Florencio had the privilege of having lunch in Atlanta) for the elimination of river blindness in 13 areas of America, Brazil, Venezuela, Columbia, Ecuador, Guatemala and Mexico. Three years ago, the Hilton Foundation made an important donation to the WHO conjointly with the Mexican Government to finalize the elimination of Tracoma in Chiapas. The condition of this foundation is that LCIF, in this case Florencio, oversees the use of these funds. Since diabetes type 2 is related to the first cause of death in Mexico, Florencio and Dr. Salvador Guerra have implemented a plan of symposiums and workshops in all the country with the title, “Obesity – diabetes – Retinopathy”. Many of these plans, to be sure, have had obstacles, some of the very complicated, but with the grace of God, we have been able to solve them. In all of there projects my wife, Kay (Leppert) has been my number one collaborator.
Dr. Florencio Cabrera
Postscript: In 2011, Dr. Florencio received one of the Lions Club’s highest awards
for his many years of service to the poor and underserved throughout Latin America.
2nd Postscript: Kay Leppert Cabrera, who was with the 1963 Amigos group in Apaseo el Grande, died on February 3, 2019. Read more about Kay in the "In Mem." section of this website.