How Rocky Point Dealt with a Rocky Time
Reflections from a community health leader on how their Mexican town handled the pandemic
—By Neha Gogineni
Beautiful sunsets over the Sea of Cortez, sandy sidewalks from the beach nearby, and a welcoming presence characterize the small fishing town known as Puerto Peñasco, Mexico, or in English, Rocky Point. Just a few hours outside of Phoenix, Arizona, this town is a hotspot for tourism, which its economy relies heavily upon. Like many other tourist spots, this town was hit hard by the travel restrictions that Covid imposed. This was particularly influential for one resident, Saul Veldiz, whose job relies on coordinating needs-assessment and service-learning trips for international volunteer groups.
As residents of Ann Arbor, many of us faced confusion and hardships as a result of the Covid pandemic, but Veldiz’s story provides a perspective that emphasizes finding meaning and passion in your work to fuel you through uncertainties.
Life before the pandemic
Despite Peñasco’s lively and welcoming atmosphere, its residents also face a host of challenges in their healthcare system that stem from government funding and resource allocation. This healthcare setting calls for support from people like Veldiz, who is a community coordinator and leader for International Service Learning (ISL), an organization that facilitates needs assessment and service-learning trips for global volunteers to support those members of Peñasco’s community that require extra support.
In a typical year, Veldiz helps facilitate anywhere from 12 to 20 teams, where he connects them with the health department, the general hospital, and the local rehabilitation unit for handicapped individuals. He also helps coordinate primary care clinics with the assistance of local physicians and the volunteers, who help spread the word about the clinics. While physically being with these teams only takes “3-4 months of physical work,” Veldiz explains that “If I have 12-20 teams throughout the year, the planning is about 6 to 8 months”—a full time, salaried position.
When a team arrives, they are greeted by Veldiz and other coordinators who act as chaperones throughout the trip. With a mix of home visits and clinic/hospital visits, students are able to engage with people unlike themselves, learning from the rich cultural differences of the Peñasco people. There, Veldiz tries to facilitate discussions amongst the students while also helping the Peñasco residents access care from local doctors with the help of the ISL volunteers.
The pandemic hits
A steady, salaried job was ripped away from many people as a result of Covid, but this was especially seen in Rocky Point because of its reliance on tourism and travel.
“Since Covid, it’s been almost a year and a half without teams,” Veldiz explains. And the result of this had large impacts. With minimal teams traveling through the program, Veldiz explains that “everybody’s salaries had to stop.” In a new system, he says he will be getting paid per team, which is not nearly as reliable as the consistent pre-Covid income.
For the community as a whole, Veldiz explains that the impact was a bit more emotional. With new hospital restrictions to protect people from Covid, family members were unable to see loved ones when they were sick. Although this consequence was seen in several places throughout the world, this was especially detrimental to the “family-oriented culture” of Peñasco. Additionally, during the pandemic, the patients weren’t allowed to see priests, which took a toll on the religious community of Peñasco.
Veldiz explained that in the past couple of years, he’s had four friends pass away, and not being able to see them was incredibly difficult. “That’s the biggest change that’s touched our community,” Veldiz explains.
Where can we still help?
Veldiz is the kind of person who will help out wherever and whenever he can, which is why despite Covid, his involvement with his community has not ceased. Because of his active involvement in the health of the community, the health department and general hospital often rely on him as a community leader to help with issues of transportation and to communicate with community members. Using the ISL van, Veldiz has helped shuttle people to and from the health clinics being run by the health department. And because he lives nearby, he also helps with clinics by “inviting people or putting out fliers.”
In addition, since 2014, he has been working as a liaison between the community health centers and the general public. Veldiz explains that every three years, a new mayor is elected, but “the party that loses puts new directors in the health department, general hospital, and rehabilitation center.” Because of recent director changes since Covid, Veldiz explains that his job is to “meet the new directors, and see where their focus is for the next three years to see where we can try to help.”
A new plan in place
In addition to his intermittent work with incoming teams and the health department, Veldiz’s foresight has provided him with another more consistent source of income—a grocery store that he recently opened.
Veldiz explained that it’s always been in his plan to eventually open a little grocery store. He explains that in his youth, one of his first jobs was working at a grocery store, and he loved it and learned a lot from it. Thankfully, he also had the foresight to do some of the leg work before Covid. “I had a lot of the furniture that the store needed through buying through yard sales,” he explained. “Once I had the news (of the steady income loss), it took me about six days to open up.”
Veldiz’s early planning and foresight have proven to be a huge asset to his family since Covid. “One way or another, God gave me the insight to start this before Covid, and it’s been feeding my family for almost two years now.”
What can we take from all this?
Despite the hardships that the Puerto Peñasco community has faced throughout Covid, Veldiz explains that their community has excelled in certain areas. For one, he says their vaccination rates have been a huge plus. The vaccinations have been rolling out smoothly and with many options for appointment times and flexibility. In addition, he mentions that the culture of vaccination is very strong in the community—“not so much like the US.” Although exact vaccination rates were unavailable, listening to health professionals in their community and a strong culture of support and family has helped them get through the pandemic.
In addition to the strong community culture, one main thing Veldiz emphasizes is finding meaning in the work he does. Veldiz acknowledges that things understandably get overwhelming because of how his time is structured and because he is getting older. However, despite the setbacks from Covid, Veldiz has found ways to remain engaged with the community, involved with the health system, and excited about his new business ventures. His secret? “Seeing the people we’re helping makes your eyes wanna tear up with joy.”
“My responsibilities keep changing through my life as I get older, but I’m still responsible for giving something back to someone that needs help, and that’s what keeps me going.”
Feature photo by Mara Logan