Los Gatos Weekly-Times Rotary grant helps optometrist pursue her vision Mary Ann Cook THE GIFT OF SIGHT: It's taken five years, but Los Gatos optometrist and Rotarian Tracy Miller now has the kind of money and equipment she needs for her optometry work in Chihuahua, Mexico. She and Stephan Krug, a retired dentist, have been flying down regularly to this remote north-central region to minister to health needs. Miller received a grant of $60,141, jointly raised from the Rotary Foundation, the Santa Clara Optometric Society, the Flying Doctors and Rotary clubs in this area and Chihuahua. The money will be used for operating expenses and equipment. A team of six--dentists, optometrists and helpers--is flown in for a week, and they treat about 1,000 children. Hank Gunther, a Los Gatan who owns the Saddle Rack in San Jose, is the pilot. The team concentrates on children and education, operating at a clinic near a mission school of 3,000. Because the area is so remote and hardscrabble, it's difficult to lure either native interns or volunteers there. But this crying need motivated Miller and Krug. "The Tarahumara Indians are a sweet people," Miller says. "It's so sad. Many of the people live in caves, and arable land is scarce. There is no sanitation system; contamination is rife. We bring in trail mix and beef jerky, eat nothing but tortillas and beans while we're there." The region is so poor that babies are fed sugar water instead of milk, with disastrous results. The clinic is trying to educate families to stress the necessity of goat's milk, which is available. Krug has spent years pulling teeth so infected they might have proved fatal. Now he's hoping to fill cavities. Donated eye glasses were formerly used to outfit the Indians, but it was a long, slow business. Plus there weren't always glasses appropriate to fulfill patients' needs. "I wanted to do it more efficiently," Miller said, so Nikon was persuaded to loan them an auto refractor. Now an autorefractor has been purchased, enabling Miller to see 200 to 300 patients a day. Frames donated from Sola Optical and lenses from Swan Optical are a godsend, but Miller could use more. "If they can't see they can't learn, can't do their crafts, can't earn a living." The ultimate goal is for the Mexican government to fund the program under the direction of native professionals. To this end a pasante, or internship program has been set up. A pasante fulfills his medical internship by working full-time in the clinic. Miller may have an advocate waiting in the wings: The president-elect of Rotary International, Frank Devlyn, owns an ophthalmology company in Mexico. "I'm going to call and introduce myself," Miller says with a grin. HONDURAN HELP: After the horrifying hurricane destruction in Central America, Tom Castro of Lo Castro Salon on Main Street sprang into action. He appealed to friends and customers for donations, and appointed his shop a drop-off point for blankets, towels, clothing and other items. The goods were taken to a central supply center in San Jose for shipment to Honduras. Castro has plenty of reasons to be thankful for his own good fortune this season: he and his wife just had a baby girl. OHLONES: Laura Jones, an anthropologist who monitors archeological digs on Stanford University's 8,180 acres, spoke at the Foothill Club recently about our predecessors here, the Ohlones. They were impressively sophisticated for a hunter/gatherer culture--a generous, gregarious people with an incredible sense of humor, Jones said. They loved to party and would walk to a gathering in Pleasanton--a two-day journey--and back again. Each of the 200 different living communities had its own laws, language and myths. Taboos forbade marriage within a tribe, so each family was multicultural, and offspring were conversant in at least three languages. Indians lived here 8,000 years or more. One of the oldest settlements was in Scotts Valley. There was a hierarchy of rich and poor, inherited wealth, polygamy. Broken bones were set and there was even surgery. But no dentistry; many Indians died of infected teeth, which unfortunately is still true today. The missions and presidios, including the art, were done by Indian labor. Eighty percent of the Indians died in the first 20 years of Spanish rule, mostly from disease. The closest tribal office is in Campbell with 600 members. Any surprise most Indians don't celebrate Thanksgiving? LATEST CD: The California Youth Symphony's latest compact disc features "An Orpheus Legend," an original piece by music director Leo Eylar, performed by Kenneth Hsu, violinist. Other selections are "Don Juan" by Strauss, the "Firebird Suite" by Stravinsky and "Three Dances from the Three-Cornered Hat" by Manuel De Falla. Los Gatos members are Jill Weinberg, oboe; Brian and Lisa Hwang, violin; Paul Jhun, principal cello; and Marianne Lowenthal, percussion. The CD is $15; the office is at 650/325-6666. YIN-YANG: A reception will be held Dec. 13, 1-4 p.m. for artists "In the Yin-Yang Circle" at the Los Gatos Museum on Tait. The artists are Zhunwang Zhua, Chun-Hui Yu, Shirley Chen, D.C. Wong and Anne King Leong. [ Back to Contents Page | Los Gatos Weekly-Times Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, December 9, 1998. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.