Frontera de Cristo, is a Presbyterian bi-national border ministry that is funded by the Presbyterian Church in the U.S. It has been in operation for 25 years and it has different mission areas: Economic Development, Health, Education, Evangelization and more.

Frontera de Cristo’s Cooperative Developer Tommy Bassett III with George Papanicolaou Association representatives, back row, from left, Evangelina Morales, Cruz Rendon and Patricia Verdugo, and front row, from left, Margarita Selvas Vera and Claudia Llanos. Submmitted Photo

This time, Frontera de Cristo worked closely with the George Papanicolaou Association of Agua Prieta, which provides free medical services for uninsured, low income woman in Agua Prieta to early detect and prevent Breast and Cervical Cancer to obtain a grant of $25,000 from the S.L. Gimbel Foundation Fund. This grant will match the existing funds from the Mexican group and will help providing an additional 952 Well Women Pap exams and 140 additional Mammogram studies in 2012.

According to Cooperative Developer Tommy Bassett III, Frontera de Cristo helps George Papanicolaou Association with technical assistance, financial controls and other related duties.

“Because the group is based in Mexico they needed to have a United States non-profit organization to receive the grant they needed,” Bassett said. “And now we will administer the distribution of the fund, so we will be working together to help even more people.”

Bassett said that with this new grant they will be able to help not only to detect and prevent cancer but to help the patient with the entire medical process.

“The difference with this grant is that if the test results positive in terms of Cancer, then they will help with specialists, both in Agua Prieta and Hermosillo (Sonora),” Bassett said. “They will cover the trips, even more important with the medicines since most of the medicines will be chemotherapy, which is very expensive; they will pay for the screening and for the treatment.”

He also said this type of cooperation helps improve the relationship with both border towns.

“It a wonderful work; it is such an honor to work with Frontera de Cristo at the voluntary programs and the work is just very fulfilling,” Bassett concluded.