Most
of the projects have taken the traditional
route of starting with initial literacy
and grass roots crafts skills before moving
to more enterprising aspects. But in 1986,
Project Five-O approved a non typical project
that was to have an enormous impact on the
highly populated area of northeast Mexico,
an area that was very under resourced in
health facilities.
This
project was the construction of a nursing
school for the education and basic training
of nurses (Escuela de Enfermeria) in California
Baja Sur, Mexico. At their Auckland, New
Zealand congress in the previous year (1985),
BPW International members, when shown the
blueprint and budget, had responded very
positively to the proposal. Within two years
they had raised the initial US$20,000 for
the scheme. Dr Silvia Salazar Salazar, a
local La Paz BPW member but also the National
President of BPW Mexico, was the moving
force for the local organisation and had
spent years planning for this scheme, her
dream, to become a reality. BPW was to have
a strong identification with this project
as it had caught the imagination of the
organisation’s worldwide membership
and this was to be crucial to the fund raising.
The
state government of Lower California Sur
donated the plot of 5,000 square metres
in the capital city of La Paz and a BPW
member, Ma del Pilar Martinez Castro, was
the architect for the building. SI and IFUW
co-sponsored the scheme, but as they were
not located in La Paz, BPW International
took the lead.
In
July 1988, BPW International President,
Tuulikki Juusela, laid the foundation stone
and planted a commemorative tree. During
the ceremony, the Governor of California
Baja Sur and the Mayor of La Paz welcomed
the project and emphasized the need for
a nursng school in this part of Mexico.
Construction was started the next month
with seventy-five per cent of the building
being completed within one year (August
1989), by which time the donations had reached
US$85,000. At the same time, UNESCO released
US$10,000 to the scheme to install windows
with aluminium frames.
The
next BPW International President, Dr Yvette
Swan, attended the official dedication ceremony
which marked the building completion on
30 July 1990. She commended the time and
energy that had been invested to provide
the completed building. Medical books for
the library had been donated by universities,
medical societies, physicians and members
of BPW in Arizona, USA, with AeroMexico
company arranging free transportation and
the Rotary Club of La Paz providing temporary
storage. Members of BPW Canada donated uniforms.
Negotiations
were started with CONALEP (Colegio Nacional
Profesional Tecnico – the Technical
Institute of Mexico) on how the nursing
school should be operated and resulted in
a thirty-year agreement being reached. CONALEP
agreed to take on the administrative responsibility
of the school, to provide and pay teachers,
coordinate the curriculum, equip the building,
workshops and laboratories and to pay the
operating costs of the nursing school. It
also meant that the courses would be accredited
and the students able to have practical
work experience at the government hospital
in La Paz. BPW Mexico has a permanent place
on the Board of CONALEP.
In
the year 2022, CONALEP has the option of
extending the thirty-year commitment but
the building and the land remain the property
of the project, held in trust by BPW La
Paz.
Looking
ahead Dr Swan had envisaged that although
the school fees were deemed to be modest,
not all students would be able to pay. Initial
donations from LaVerne Collins, Past President,
BPW USA and Dr Swan set up an educational
fund. Currently, the scholarships provided
for the students number about 70 a year
from BPW Mexico and its clubs and, at various
times, more from other BPW International
affiliates.
The
nursing school opened officially in March
1992 with 90 students accepted from the
200 that applied. Within the first year
the total student intake rose to 158. As
this level of enrolment had exceeded the
original projections, an extension to the
building was needed. To cover this cost,
BPW International raised US$33,000 at their
1993 Nagoya congress. The Government of
Finland, a major contributor, helped with
the building of the library. In addition,
a legacy from Ms Hannah Walker of Mexico
provided the addition of two new wings.
The
school year is divided into two terms and
the course lasts for three and a half years.
Dr Salazar Salazar presided over the initial
graduation ceremony in February 1995 when
the first 35 women and 8 men graduated.
In
1999, Five-O financed the replacement of
the out of date contents of the library
through the purchase of 64 publications
and 236 books. The school was now called
the Professor Maria Silvia Salazar Salazar
School of Nursing.
Despite
the development made, additional buildings
were still needed so BPW International has
provided a seeding fund of US$12,000 and
raised a further US$3,600 at their 2002
congress by selling ‘property bricks’
for US$100 to their members, a fundraising
effort that continues to this day. The foundation
stone for the final extension was laid in
March 2003 and the planned new auditorium
named in honour of Dr Yvette Swan. Construction
is temporarily delayed until the full funding
is achieved. In August 2003, Project Five-O
approved a supplementary grant of US$7,500
to support additional training and materials.
This
was the first nursing school in Baja California
Sur to provide training in maternity/infant
nursing, surgical/medical nursing, administrative
nursing services and nutrition. In 2004,
it became the first Education Institute
to be certified with the ISO 9001:2000 norm,
reflecting the quality of the training and
the educational processes and also had its
Study Plans and Programmes accredited by
the Mexican Federation of Nursing Faculties
and Schools. Capable of training an annual
intake of up to 100 nurses (there were 260
students in 2004-2005), nearly 500 nurses
have already graduated and are working in
regular nursing and health care jobs or
relief work in the 120 rural communities
to the north and south of La Paz.
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