Families trust Patronato Pro Niños because thousands of children have been helped through the years.
Since 1970, Patronato Pro Niños (PPN) has been working in San Miguel de Allende and the surrounding countryside to promote good health and oral hygiene to economically disadvantaged children and their families.
PPN’s mission – to bring health services to children in need – is realized through the provision of professional services to the second and third generations of the same family. These families trust Patronato Pro Niños – trust that comes from thousands of children who have been helped through the years.
As well as medical and dental care, PPN provides psychological care, and nutritional counselling at the Children’s Health Center in San Miguel de Allende. In addition, five mobile units deliver health and dental services to more than 500 rural communities in the municipality.
PPN employs four doctors, six dentists, a psychologist, a nutritionist, and a social worker. It also pays for medicines and the services of specialist doctors, therapists, and laboratories. And, it covers a portion of the cost of transportation to specialty hospitals and rehabilitation centres in bigger cities.
In advance of dental treatment, children watch a brief dental care video followed by an interactive presentation in which the dentist talks about the importance of brushing their teeth and the benefit of a more nutritious diet.
The dentists use props for their presentations. The puppets, which have very large teeth, were donated by a group of Canadian dental nursing students from Red Deer, Alberta.
On January 12, 2021, the Amistad Canada mobile medical-dental unit was blessed at a ribbon-cutting in front of the historic Parrochia. San Miguel municipal President Luis Alberto Villarreal acknowledged the generosity of the Canadians who donated the 1,900,000 pesos (about $120,000 CAD) to buy and equip the vehicle. Now that it’s on the road, future donations to PPN via Amistad Canada will help pay the driver, doctor, and dentist.
