Having trouble viewing this email? Click here

Mission 2012 Blog #3 Dear Kelly,

Here is the blog from the travelers: If you'd like to view the pictures that are associated with them please view it on our website instead please visit www.mikinduri.com/tripblog Swarmed at Kinwe - Feb 11 Swarmed at Kinwe - Feb 11

Usually being swarmed is seen as a negative. But when you are suddenly surrounded by 300 adorable, precious and grateful children, it definitely becomes a positive! That was our experience at the Kinwe Feeding Centre, one of the earliest projects funded by the Mikinduri Children of Hope (MCOH). Before our trip to the Feeding Centre, though, we had to get to Mikinduri, crossing the equator on our way. Our trip from Castle Forest Lodge to Mikinduri was punctuated by a stop at the NacuMatt (Kenya's version of Wal-mart, except for the security check at the entrance) which sells everything from housewares to hair products and booze to bedding. Speaking of bedding, we stocked up on pillows and large basins to wash our clothes. By late afternoon on Friday, we arrived in Mikinduri - our home away from home for the next ten days. We quickly "checked in" at the No-Name Hotel (so named by the team because it has no name!) and settled into our rooms. Those who frequent the Charlottetown Farmer's Market were simply delighted when Makena Ambassa (our cook) served up her famous samosas for an appetizer! Our dinner was also delicious, followed by a team meeting to get oriented. We met the members of the local MCOH team who are all hardworking and friendly. Saturday morning we were up bright and early, eager for a tour of the town. Through the dusty streets we strolled visiting the MCOH funded sewing centre, which is expanding its sales, and the local office. Next up, we visited Fr. Bernard's church and school. Fr. B, as he fondly known, is the pastor of the St. Mossimo Catholic Church in Mikinduri and a huge fan of the MCOH organization (the feeling is mutual). Fr. B also runs a privately funded school St Dorothy for children of his parish. The children were proud to sing to us and a few of the girls demonstrated their newly learned self-defence techniques (taught by our own Cheri Butt from Mississauga, Ontario). Then the swarming! As we walked up the long and dusty road to the Feeding Centre, the children came excitedly to meet us. They ushered us to the Centre yard where we soon had the honour and privilege of serving them breakfast of porridge and later a lunch of rice (I've never seen such a HUGE pot of rice) and a stew of meat (special since we were there), beans and corn. Most of these children are sponsored by Canadians. We were treated to a program of songs and poems delivered by the children. We reciprocated by singing O Canada and leading the crowd in Itsy-Bitsy Spider, Hokey-Pokey, and If You're Happy and You Know It. To give you a sense of the children's gratitude, I'm including the words of a prayer they recited: Almighty Father, we thank you for giving us good friends. Our father Teddy Grands, Suzanne Johnson and others. We express our heartmost love for your kindness and care. We thank all other stakeholders, our beloved Fr. Bernard Njeru, our priest, our director Cynthia Muthoni, our teachers and other workers. May the good Lord keep you safe always focused and loving. We children will keep our spirit burning with desire to excel, to make our lives meaningful. Help us, oh Lord, help Kinwe Centre, our beloved home. Amen. We were pleased to see the site of the soon-to-be-built Maringa Leaf Powder processing plant, which will be located at Kenwe. Maringa is the only vegetable that has the complete amino complex, so it has all of the elements to build protein. This leaf can be ground into powder that the locals sprinkle into Ugali, a porridge-like substance. It can also be taken as a supplement, made into a salve to rub on sores, mixed with tea for ulcers, and the root broken up into chips to filter water. There is a customer that will purchase as much Maringa powder as can be produced! This does not make MCOH any profit, but enables the farmer to sell a new product. After a lunch back at the hotel compound, we got to work sorting out the many bags of "stuff": glasses, medical and dental supplies, craft supplies, toys, school supplies and baby blankets. Later in the afternoon we went to the clinic area to meet with the medical professionals from Meru who will be part of our team - and to become familiar with the space.

Meet:- Youngest team member, Lily Campbell, who is getting a great taste of Kenyan life. A Grade 3 student at Spring Park School in Charlottetown, Lily is excited to be part of the team. Her roles will be craft leader and assistant in the vision clinic. She also plans to attend school at Fr. B's for a few days. To date, her highlights have been the feeding centre visit and seeing the elephants and giraffes early in the trip.- Husband and wife team, Greg and Leanne Butler. Greg, born and raised in western PEI opened the original dollar stores in PEI. In recent years, he has operated Christmas Discounters stores in both PEI and New Brunswick. He is with the vision team. Leanne, an RCMP member, is part of the criminal operations section for PEI. Leanne has had key roles in post-war Kosovo and in the security detail at the Vancouver Olympics. Greg and Leanne live in Stratford.- Physiotherapist Michelle Foster, an employee at Charlottetown Physiotherapy. She will be teaming up with an occupational therapist from neighbouring Meru to treat patients. Michelle is mother to two children - a seven-year-old Brooke and a five-year-old Sam - who are very excited that their mother is having this experience. Her son is especially excited about Mom going in the cage to watch the shark feeding in Cape Town, after her mission work. Brooke is hoping for some Kenyan treasures.

Forward this email

This email was sent to soccer_fun@live.com by hope@mikinduri.com | Update Profile/Email Address | Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe™ | Privacy Policy.

Mikinduri Children of Hope | 25 Waterview Drive | Cornwall | Prince Edward Island | C0A 1H0 | Canada

Hi there, Kelly. Thanks again for being our messenger!!! The updates you have been receiving were from a team perspective, so I thought I'd take this rare opportunity to send a personal note. Can you please send it our to our list.We are having a fabulous time here in Kenya. Lily, as you can imagine, is quite a conversation piece. Today, we stopped at a roadside stand to buy her a pair of custom-made sandals, fashioned from recycled tires. Behind her had gathered about 50 kids and adults watching curiously!! Highlights to date were visiting the feeding centre yesterday, a very humbling experience, and meeting the rest of the team. We are really gelling as a group and are in the midst of our final preparations before the clinics open tomorrow morning, bright and early. Church today was fabulous - lots of singing and a very long Swahili sermon. Made as much sense as most of the sermons at home, actually!!Hello from Lily to her friends in Class 3C at Spring Park. She misses all of you and can't wait to share stories!Will jot another personal message if we get a chance. In the meantime, we hope you are enjoying our blog.

http://www.afamilyjourney.com

Having trouble viewing this email? Click here

Mission 2012 Blog 1 and 2 Dear Kelly,

Here is the blog from the travelers: If you'd like to view the pictures that are associated with them please view it on our website instead please visit www.mikinduri.com/tripblog Blog #1 - Pre-week by Libby To start off the blogs for KENCAN 2012, Cheri and Shawna share their experiences from the pre-week (the week before the majority of the team arrived). The rest of the team arrived safely and is on their way to Mikinduri! Shawna, Cheri and Sue arrived Wed night on Feb 2nd, minus two wheelchairs, and spent their first hour in Kenya the way we always do... claiming baggage! They arrived in Mikinduri on Thursday to meet Ed and Ted who were hard at work. The girls spend the next week in schools, where Shawna is always met with a joyous return "Miss Shawna! Miss Shawna!!Shawna taught Nursery to Grade 8 classes, from the alphabet up to Mt Kenya, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, English, and math classes! Cheri and Sue spent the afternoons teaching self defense to 40 girls in grades 5-8. The boys were quite upset that they were excluded. Father Linus at St Massimo's joined in as the attacker, and plans to continue these classes and start counseling for the girls.One joy of going to Mikinduri as a team-member is to meet the child you sponsor and those your friends sponsor. Cheri and the girls visited a sponsor child of a member of Cheri's church: Marge from Alderwood United. Marge sent over presents that the girls delivered. While they were there, Shawna and Sue taught the boy to play baseball, and the family was so happy, they thanked the girls with a bag of tomatoes. Cheri also got to visit her sponsor child and her sister. The girls received backpacks filled with gifts, and immediately went and tried on their gifts. They came out wearing two dresses each, their new hats, and new sunglasses. They were so excited they insisted on wearing both dresses at the same time! It has been a satisfying week, and now that the team is united, they're looking forward to the clinics and working with their Kenyan friends.Ted has some exciting news as well. He and Ed were busy in meetings making new partners for MCOH. Meru District Hospital will be providing 3 doctors for the clinics. The Lion's Club out of Meru will be sending a team of optometrists and ophthalmologists for the second year, and for the first three days of the clinic, they are sending a team of surgeons to perform cataract surgery on site!Ted and Ed were at the ground breaking on the new Maringa Leaf Powder processing plant at Kennoe, the site of the first farm and feeding center with Chalice. Maringa is the only vegetable that has the complete amino complex, so it has all of the elements to build protein. This leaf can be ground into powder that the locals sprinkle into Ugali, a porridge-like substance. It can also be taken as a supplement, made into a save to rub on sores, mixed with tea for ulcers, and the root broken up into chips to filter water. The Segel FamilyTrust has provided a $20,000 grant to, plant more moringa trees, build a drying and processing plant, and meet the production standards of KEBS (Kenya Examination Board Standards).This new project encourages and enables farmers to grow a different crop. Currently most of the farmers grow corn. This great amount of competition results in a much lower profit. If they were to grow different crops, they would be able to sell the new crop at a higher price. The project will provide Maringa seedlings to farmers, who will pay back the cost of the seeds after their first crop. The farmers grow the product, sell it to MCOH, where it is dried and processed. There is a customer that will purchase as much Maringa powder as can produced! This does not make MCOH any profit, but enables the farmer to sell a new product.Last year it was decided that a permanent rehabilitation clinic wlll be held in Mikinduri, specifically dedicated to improving the lives of people with physical disabilities. Moving something from decision to action can take time, especially in laid-back Kenya. Ted and Ed met with 53 people to put an MOU in place (Memorandum of Understanding) to move the decision along. From the meeting, it was decided that there will be a doctor, nurse, pharmacist, and physiotherapist permanently stationed in Mikinduri, starting April 1st. The Ministry of Health is funding the staff, building maintenance, and supplies. MCOH will pay for the construction of the rehabilitation center. MHCDO (Mikinduri Hope Community Development Office, the local staff for MCOH) are fundraising locally to buy the equipment for the center. (In attendance were: Dr Ngere, the Provincial Director of Medical Services for the Eastern Province of Kenya, in conjunction with the leaders in Mikinduri, APDK (Association for Physical Disabled of Kenya) Director for Eastern Province ,a representative from the Ministry of Health, the local MP (member of parliament), the DO District Officer of local area, Mikinduri Sub-district Hospital Committee, MHCDO, local Chief of Mikinduri, farm groups, and local sub-district hospital).They accomplished much more work during the extra weeks they were here, but these are the highlights. Thanks for your great accomplishments, Ed! We'll see you back in Canada!

Blog #2 Leaving Nairobi by Louise

Leaving Nairobi - February 9, 2012

We are having an amazing trip! Yesterday, we saw exquisite beads being handmade, fed giraffe, and watched orphaned elephant youngsters feed themselves from giant baby bottles. And that's before we even left Nairobi! I'm getting ahead of myself, though. First we had to get to Kenya. The flights were all smooth, but it seemed like we were on the one from Brussels from Nairobi for a very long time. In fact, it was a solid 12 hours, with one brief stop along the way to drop off and pick up passengers. We spent our first night at the Methodist Guest House in Nairobi - safely tucked in under our mosquito nets. The nets are kind of like those circular canopies little girls have in their rooms, but coarser netting and it surrounds the whole bed. After a hearty breakfast at our lodging, we went to Kazouri, a bead-making and jewelry-making operation which employs close to 300, mostly women who were in abusive relationships and able to gain freedom from the abuse by having their own income. After a tour of the operation, where we saw all the steps required to make large stones into bright colourful beads, we let loose in the store. The necklaces, bracelets and earrings these women make is truly exquisite! Next stop was the Giraffe Centre, an amazing spot where we were able to feed giraffe from a raised platform. Did you know that their tongues can be as long as 18 inches. They are lovely, gentle creatures - at least to us, since we were not predators. The warthogs weaving in around them obviously think they are gentle, too. The littlest giraffe was especially cute!

The elephant orphanage was truly delightful. It was heartwarming to see the bond between the handlers and the elephants whom were rescued after their mothers were killed by poachers. Imagine watching elephants feeding themselves baby formula from giant baby bottles clutched in place by their trunks. After eating, they showered themselves with clay and seemed to have lots of fun doing so!

After all this excitement we headed north from Nairobi on our two-day trek to Mikinduri. We overnighted at the impossible-to-fully-describe Castle Forest Lodge. This unique inn, which is reached by a long and very rocky road, features a lovely restaurant at the main house and a series of huts, each with a fireplace. In this remote location, we ate a delicious dinner to the sounds of birds and baboons. Alas, no elephants came to the pool located in full view of the restaurant, although just days before a herd of 25 came to the watering hole as guests were enjoying their evening on the restaurant deck. As I write this note, breakfast is being served and we will soon be on our way to Mikinduri. In the coming days, we will keep you posted on our whereabouts, our experiences, and the people we meet. I will also profile our team members. Have a great day - I'm sure we will!!!

Forward this email

This email was sent to soccer_fun@live.com by hope@mikinduri.com | Update Profile/Email Address | Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe™ | Privacy Policy.

Mikinduri Children of Hope | 25 Waterview Drive | Cornwall | Prince Edward Island | C0A 1H0 | Canada

Having trouble viewing this email? Click here

Mission Update Dear Kelly,

I just wanted to give a very quick update to tell you that we spoke with my Dad today, Ted Grant, and everyone arrived safely in Kenya. They enjoyed a day of rest today, to "let their heads catch up to their bodies" as my Dad always says:) They traveled through so many time zones it can be difficult. They were going to see some animals and visit an elephant orphanage before heading to Castle Forest Lodge for the night. I am sure as they get settled in and start the clinics tomorrow in Mikinduri we will start to see some blog updates. All the best, MichelleMikinduri Children of Hope

Forward this email

This email was sent to soccer_fun@live.com by hope@mikinduri.com | Update Profile/Email Address | Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe™ | Privacy Policy.

Mikinduri Children of Hope | 25 Waterview Drive | Cornwall | Prince Edward Island | C0A 1H0 | Canada

We will be doing lots of clinics, see schedule below.  We will also be going on safari (Swahili for vacation), but don't really know what to expect.  We want to see cheetahs, lions and elephants!

Great Blog.  We really don't know what to expect on Safari; but this blog, by professional photographer Ben Dobson is excellent.  Two pics from his site:

Our schedule:

Tuesday, Feb 7 - 6pm leave Charlottetown (2 hours to Montreal, 7 hours to Brussels, 8 hours to Narobi)

Wednesday, Feb 8 - Arrive Narobi, Kenya (24 hour trip).  Night at the Methodist Inn

Thursday, Feb 9 - Castle Forest Lodge, www.castleforestlodge.com/.  WOW!

Friday, Feb 10 - Arrive in Mikinduri

Saturday, Feb 11 - Visit project sites

Sunday, Feb 12 - Church service

Monday, Feb 13 - Clinic Day 1

Tuesday, Feb 14 - Clinic Day 2

Wednesday, Feb 15 - Clinic Day 3

Thursday, Feb 16 - Clinic Day 4

Friday, Feb 17 - Clinic Day 5

Saturday, FEb 18 - relax, visit prior projects

Sunday, Feb 19 - Church service

Monday, Feb 20 - Clinic Day 6

Tuesday, Feb 21 - Clinic Day 7 (last clinic day)

Wednesday, Feb 22 - Depart for Safari, Tsavo East.

Will be looking for lots of lions and elephants!

Thursday, Feb 23, Safari

Friday, Feb 23 - depart for Naraboi.  We leave at midnight for Canada.

Saturday, Feb 24 - back in Charlottetown in the early evening.

96.1 on PEI - or on the web  Just look on the right hand side, upper corner for the 'Listen Live' logo.

... and her back up team.

Future of Technology videos on the Huffington Post.  Very good news aggregator.

We are getting antsy for the time to come!