The Participants

The Viajes Interinstitucional de Integración Docente, Asistencial y de Investigación (VIIDAI) is a collaborative international public health field project among the Graduate School of Public Health at San Diego State University (SDSU), the School of Medicine at Universidad Autónoma de Baja California (UABC) in Mexico, and the School of Medicine at University of California at San Diego (UCSD).

The participants of the program are graduate students and faculty from each of the three universities,  plus  volunteers from the community, such as  Rotary Club members. The experience is not only beneficial to the colonias being visited, but also to the participants. Aside from  real world experience, participants gain valuable insight to global realities as well as a better cultural awareness.
The program is conducted twice a year, and involves providing medical and dental services plus conducting  health needs assessments in rural colonias in Baja California, Mexico. Participants identify  needs of these communities and realize the incredible impacts their contributions can make.

The Colonias

The colonias, which begin as squatters neighborhoods in rural Baja California, are small farming towns  that ship much of their agricultural products to the U.S.  The population of these colonias consists largely of migrant and seasonal farm workers, which allows for constant immigration and emigration within the colonia. These colonias eventually become developed neighborhoods as migrants make the colonias their home, although it usually takes years for the colonias to acquire running water, sewage, garbage collection, electricity, and other basic forms of infrastructure. Some neighborhoods are still waiting for these services.

The leadership of the participating colonias is essential to the success of the program. Community leaders offer critical resources and insight into the development of the VIIDAI focus each year, as well as feedback and evaluation for future collaborations.

The impact of VIIDAI on the communities the participants work with is considerable. The community benefits from a significant increase in access medical resources – in the form of medical expertise, health education and promotion, as well as much needed medical services. Because of high levels of interest, cooperation and participation, colonia leaders build capacity to continue the work of the universities beyond the VIIDAI trip.