Every Little Helps

Our team has been working hard all semester to gather supplies and raise money-- it’s so exciting to think that in ONE WEEK we’ll be on our way-- to the other side of the world!!

I would just like to say thank you to all of the people supporting our trip: family, friends, classmates, faculty…and everyone in between! We've held bake sales, and silent auctions, sent out letters, gathered supplies on campus and have been overwhelmed by the generosity we've received. We have raised more than $10,000 in financial donations and more medical supplies than we know what to do with! The money will be used to purchase mosquito nets, which cost about $10 dollars each- divided by $10,000-- that's a thousand nets-- which can protect an entire family (guestimate 6 people per family)-- that's 6,000 people protected from malaria!  On behalf of  Team Cameroon, I would like to thank everyone who has contributed in any way, shape or form. This would not have been possible with out you. 

Thank you!!

From Team Cameroon

Making a list and checking it twice

The semester has now come to a close- finals are done, grades are in, the holidays are quickly approaching and I still have a long to-do list in order to be ready for my trip!!!  I’ve been gathering things here and there—but now it’s time to get down to business!

Shots and medications are in order. Passport/visa are in hand. My skirt collection has grown exponentially. Sunscreen and mosquito repellant are ready for action. Things are coming together!! In the whirlwind of exams, papers and clinical hours Christmas has snuck up on me. So as I sing carols, wrap gifts and decorate the tree I am going over my packing list for the 400^th time. “Well I need about 800+ crayons, props for “malaria tag”- so we know who’s "it" (playing the role of an anopheles mosquito) and who’s the medical-type person (giving “medicine” to those who have been tagged so they can get well… and un-frozen). 

Then there’s a whole list of personal things: camera batteries, outlet converter, some inexpensive sunglasses (that I will surely lose or break during the first week)…and so on. Overall it’s just little sorts of things, which consequently are the easiest types of things to forget. Which is why I’m making a list…and checking it more than twice.

I wish everyone the most joyous of holidays!!

If your spirt dances your body will follow

         This evening I had the opportunity to go to a concert unlike any other I'd attended. The Asante Children's Choir is a group of 24 boys and girls between the ages of eight and fifteen from Rwanda. The group has been touring around the states to raise money in order to provide education and health care for more than a thousand children in Rwanda.
        The tour's title, "The Sound Of Hope" fits perfectly. These children have experienced more hardship in their young lives than I could ever dream of and yet, here they are, singing and dancing about the sincere joy and love they have to share.
        Now as you may know, I love dance and to watch these tiny humans... I can only be describe it as a complete joy; a bubbling excitement in my spirit of the possibility of hope. These beautiful children were exuding an indescribable, infectious energy from every pore- every smile- every voice. Bad things have happened to these kids but you would never know that by seeing them perform. Watching them was truly a privilege.

The performance was truly inspiring-- and if I wasn't going to Africa in twenty-three days, I would be figuring out a way to get there.

The Countdown

I don’t know where the time has gone, but our departure date is quickly approaching:  today is the official “one month” mark! That's right folks: only thirty-one more nights of sleep and I'll be on a plane traveling across land and sea to a new adventure!

Granted I have a lot to do in the 31-day period before my departure, but I still find myself anxiously awaiting January 3rd.

 Time is the longest distance between two places.  ~Tennessee Williams

Passport:(n) An official government document that certifies one's identity and permits a citizen to travel abroad.

A few days ago I was looking through the drawer where I keep my passport. It wasn’t there. My heart stopped for what seemed like eternity. Thinking, thinking… Where could it have gone?! My ticket to the world. It was right here!!

Oh.

I remember.

Last month we sent our passports off to the Cameroon embassy in DC to get our visas. I felt so isolated. Somehow incomplete. My passport holds proof that my favorite adventures actually happened: Guatemala, New Zealand, Ireland. I couldn’t have dreamed those adventures…could I? To my great relief, my passport was returned to me today. Arrived in a FedEx envelope, that looked very normal. The FedEx carrier probably had no idea that what he/she was carrying happens to be one of my favorite belongings (besides my teddy bear of course). I cannot tell you the comfort I felt holding that little blue booklet in my hand once again. Just to make sure, I looked for each stamp. Yep, there’s one, two three, four and a new, unfamiliar stamp. Cameroon has already made its mark—and I haven’t even left yet!!

I love passport stamps. Every place you travel leaves its “mark” on you; may be something you learned, or saw, someone you met or a realization that changed your perspective. Good experiences, bad experiences, the thrilling and terrifying combine to create a new way of seeing.

“Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.” – Miriam Beard

What is Africa to Me?

I remember the exact moment I first dreamed of going to Africa. It was my freshman year of college and I had just come from an African dance workshop. Now you might be wondering, “How can a dance workshop be a life changing moment?”  to which I respond…I don’t really know. The workshop was lead by a music and dance performance group from Ghana and as I danced new steps to a foreign rhythm I lost my heart. The drums and movements were so full of life!

When I heard about the trip to Cameroon it was a dream come true! An opportunity to combine my passion for nursing with my love of travel; and in Africa of all places!

Our group consists of thirteen senior nursing students and three faculty (two of whom have led previous groups).For the month of January we will travel to Cameroon, collaborating with an organization called "Women, Environment and Health" (WEH) doing physical assessments, health teaching and health promotion activities in local villages. WEH is a non-government organization that was founded by a Linfield alumna in 1999. In the past four years two other groups of Linfield nursing students have worked with WEH in assessing the community health needs and promote health education on topics such as malaria and HIV/AIDS. The work we do will give WEH valuable information regarding the needs of the community as well as individuals in the village.

At our first “Team Cameroon” meeting back in September, we were asked “What is Africa to you?”  (from the poem “Heritage” by Countee Cullen) Before responding I considered what first inspired me about this foreign land: the colors, the wilderness, and a hope that endures through disparity. This trip holds a lot of meaning for me but I found it very difficult to define what Africa is to me. It is another way of life. It is a place rich with culture and history. It is a place in need of assistance and resources often taken for granted. I am looking forward to share what I know about nursing and health with the people in Cameroon but I am well aware that teaching will go both ways—and I am so excited to learn!!