Notes from Zambia

Its that time of year again! Steph and I are heading to Africa!

In about 3 hours we will be on Kenyan Airways, heading to Nairobi, Kenya and then Lusaka, Zambia. We are sad to be missing the holiday season, and the Midwestern wintery weather, and of course all family and friends will be greatly missed, but what can we say, it’s AFRICA! With it being Zambia’s rainy season, we will be sweating in the 90 degree weather and wading through washed-out roads.

PROJECT!
Stephanie and I are heading to Zambia to collect data for our MPH Master’s Projects. We will be there for approximately 5.5 weeks while we complete a program evaluation of Tiny Tim and Friends. I am focusing on the care and treatment of HIV+ orphans and other vulnerable children aspect of the program, while Steph is focusing on the prevention on mother-to–child transmission of HIV. We will be conducting focus groups and interviews with the help of an interpreter.

SHOUT OUTS!
1. My dad for donating supplies such as hospital gowns, cloth diapers, and butt paste. These items will be given to the House of Moses and Mother Teresa’s Hospice, which are two places that I spent time at over this past summer. Many of the infants have severe diaper rash, so hopefully the soft cloths and the butt cream can help out their little bottoms!

2. Claire and Sam for donating their out-grown baby clothes. Its great that little children can help out others who live on the other side of the world. These two are an example for all.

3. Amanda Guay and her 3rd and 4th grade class at Green Lake School in Wisconsin. Amanda is a long-time friend of mine who decided to spread awareness about children who live in resource-poor areas. She conducted a November project where she taught the children about the children’s lives in Africa and the children wrote letters and colored pictures for students in Lusaka. I will be distributing the letters and pictures to schools around the city. It is so great that friendships across the globe can be created. Amanda's project also led to a Mosquito Net fundraiser by the children and their families. I encourage you all to check out Amanda’s classroom webpage to see more info and pictures: http://www.glsd.k12.wi.us/faculty/aguay/november.cfm

Thank you Amanda for being a dedicated and inspiring teacher and thank you to all the students for sharing your creative and compassionate hearts.

4. Stephanie’s mom for donating medical supplies such as vials and specimen containers. These are items that are necessary for proper testing and screening. Thanks Ms. Hengst!!!

And... away we go!
xoxo,
Debby