SHE WENT TO THE AMAZON ... AND STAYED.Byline: DENNIS McCARTHY Dennis McCarthy may refer to:
In the 1960s, she was a dutiful du·ti·ful adj. 1. Careful to fulfill obligations. 2. Expressing or filled with a sense of obligation. du , happy housewife pushing a vacuum cleaner vacuum cleaner, mechanical device using a draft of air to remove dust, loose dirt, or other particulate matter from dry surfaces. It is especially useful on highly textured surfaces, such as carpets and upholstery, that are difficult to clean by wiping or brushing. around her Woodland Hills home, Gina Low says. In the '70s, she joined the PTA PTA or parent-teacher association: see parent education. and devoted her life to shepherding three children through school. In the '80s, she joined the Junior League, and other volunteer organizations, including serving on the board of directors of the Pacific Boys Lodge in Verb 1. lodge in - live (in a certain place); "She resides in Princeton"; "he occupies two rooms on the top floor" occupy, reside move in - occupy a place; "The crowds are moving in" stay at - reside temporarily; "I'm staying at the Hilton" Woodland Hills. In the '90s - well, in the '90s, Gina Low turned 50. And never looked back. ``For her 50th in 1993, I sent her on a 14-day trip down the Amazon River Amazon River Portuguese Rio Amazonas River, northern South America. It is the largest river in the world in volume and area of drainage basin; only the Nile River of eastern and northeastern Africa exceeds it in length. in Peru, and she stayed,'' says her daughter, Candice Vaughn of Calabasas. That's not entirely true. Her mother did come back, but only long enough to take some health care classes in pharmaceutical medicine before packing her bags permanently for a trip back to Peru that's lasted 11 years now. What Gina saw in remote villages deep in the jungles on that first trip in 1993 made it impossible for her to return to her Good Housekeeping Good Housekeeping is a women's magazine owned by the Hearst Corporation, featuring articles about women's interests, product testing by The Good Housekeeping Institute, recipes, diet, health as well as literary articles. lifestyle in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . ``Another $50 check to Greenpeace isn't what I needed to do,'' she said Monday. ``It was time for me to take responsibility and act on something I believed in.'' She kissed her family and friends goodbye, took the $60,000 inheritance her pioneering father had left her, and returned to Peru to start a mobile first-aid station Noun 1. first-aid station - a station providing emergency care or treatment before regular medical aid can be obtained aid station, dressing station - (military) a station located near a combat area for giving first aid to the wounded on the Amazon. She bought a used transport boat for $7,000, and began stopping at all those remote villages she had visited where babies were sick and dying. From the back of a boat that was also her home, Gina began dispensing antibiotics, aspirin and any medicine she could lay her hands on to help the sick Indians in these villages. When the $60,000 was gone, she came home and sold off all her property and possessions to raise more money. She didn't need them anymore, she said. Afraid she wouldn't return, the villagers along the Amazon gave her a present before she left. Land. They hoped this would make Gina come back. They didn't have to worry. She came back and stayed. What began as a birthday present 11 years ago for a woman turning 50 has grown into a nonprofit organization Nonprofit Organization An association that is given tax-free status. Donations to a non-profit organization are often tax deductible as well. Notes: Examples of non-profit organizations are charities, hospitals and schools. in Peru and the United States called APECA APECA Agence de Promotion Économique du Canada Atlantique APECA Association des Professionnels Européens de la Carte d'Achat APECA Association Promoting Education and Conservation in Amazonia , Association Promoting Education and Conservation in Amazonia. The group delivers vaccines to children and pregnant mothers, and offers TB treatments and malaria testing. It has also started educational programs for children, and clean-water projects in the villages. Gina's back in the Valley for a few months to help her pregnant daughter, Candice, take care of her baby, which is due next week. She spends 90 percent of her life in the Amazon forest now, returning only for family visits and to help raise funds for APECA, which has a board of directors of local doctors and friends she made over the years doing volunteer work in the Valley. Ten of those old friends spent two weeks in June helping Gina build a study center in the village of El Fundo on the Amazon River. ``Gina was always the kind of person who got up and did things that needed doing, but none of us in our wildest dreams thought she'd do something like this,'' said Ruth Abel, a friend of 38 years. ``Believe me, it's a primitive place down there. She gave up a nice life here to be down there helping those people. She's pretty incredible.'' It runs in the family genes, Gina says. Her father was a successful doctor who gave up his practice to move to Arizona and provide medical care to poor Indians. ``What I saw on those Indian reservations strongly influenced my desire to learn more about the indigenous culture of Indian tribes INDIAN TRIBE. A separate and distinct community or body of the aboriginal Indian race of men found in the United States. 2. Such a tribe, situated within the boundaries of a state, and exercising the powers of government and, sovereignty, under the national ,'' she said. But life got in the way. Marriage, kids, the PTA - all the trappings. The closest Gina could get to her father's legacy was taking her own teenage children on a 13-week summer trip across the United States in a van, visiting Indian reservations along the way. ``I wanted my kids to see the life you don't experience growing up in wonderful Woodland Hills,'' she said. It was that trip and the stories she heard about her grandfather that convinced Candice she had the perfect gift for her mother's 50th birthday. She was right. ``In the last 11 years, I've delivered dozens of babies in those villages, and become godmother to a whole lot more,'' Gina says. ``I've seen kids with no chance of getting an education, go on and get one. And sick babies who would have had little or no chance at survival, get better and become healthy children. ``How are you going to beat that kind of life?'' For more information on APECA, visit the group's Web site - www.apecaperu.org or write APECA Inc. at 21338 Dumetz Rd., Woodland Hills, CA 91364. Dennis McCarthy, (818) 713-3749 dennis.mccarthy(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: When Gina Low, front, was given a trip to Peru by daughter Candice Vaughn as a birthday present, she wound up staying to help the Amazon Indians. Michael Owen
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