some photos

Getting ready for my next trip: notes sent to family and friends

Hello All.

Please see the attached word document.

If you are receiving this you are in at least one of the following categories:

Someone who I thought might be interested in a short account of what has been going on with the Tanzanian projects
An old friend with whom I have had little-to-no contact over along period and who’s email address popped up at me while going through my address book (there are a few of you!)
A colleague who might be wondering what the heck I am doing when I keep leaving for Tanzania
A medical person that might like to take part in a caravan at some point (actually…we need non-medical people, as well on all the caravans)
A family member
Someone from the hockey team who keeps hearing me talk about Tanzania!
Someone who donated to my last trip
Someone who might like to donate to the Women’s Center this year

Even though I finish the note with how to donate, I only put that there for those who are looking for a good cause to donate to. I realise that this year is very stressful for everyone and I don’t expect anyone to feel the need to help the Center at this time, when there is so much attention needed at home. That info is just there FYI.


Jenn

Hello to All of you.

I am writing to tell you about my next trip to Tanzania and to update you on my time there with the kids last spring and on the news about the Women’s Center.

We had an absolutely wonderful time. Many of you visited our blog, which ended about half way through the trip because we were in Kilema and the internet access was sketchy at best. If you want to visit the blog it is: http://carpenter-chardsintanzania.blogspot.com/

The highlights of the trip were:
The Women’s Center taking off:
The Women’s center, called Pamoja Tuneweza (“together we can”) is an absolute marvel, if I do say so myself! My dear friend Karen has spearheaded the whole thing but I have been involved in its development from the start. For a year and a half, the Center has been offering shelter, free legal aid, social counselling as well as micro loans and education in economics/running small businesses to women in need. At the start of my trip in April, we opened the medical part of it with our first “caravan” there. For those of you who don’t know, “caravan” is the term we use for a bunch of Canadians going over for two weeks and providing intensive medical care and free medications for hundreds of patients a day. Prior to our arrival, Agnes and Vicki, who run the place, advertised all over Moshi that we were coming and were going to offer free medical care. The ads worked…we saw hundreds of women and children (and some men) per day. We offered free HIV testing (with pre-and post counselling), general medical care (with free meds), toothbrushes that Sid and Adam had collected prior to departure (1000 of them!), mosquito nets, free legal aid and more. It was a HUGE success and left the center as a force to be reckoned with in Moshi. The wonderful Peninah, our clinical officer from Kenya, did the caravan with us and is now running the medical aspect of the center when we are not there.

Working in Kilema:
After Moshi, the kids, Jess (my friend, public health student (and our nanny!) and I went to Kilema which is a rural hospital. We lived on the grounds of the hospital and I did some teaching and some learning in the hospital as well as at the HIV clinic that has been funded by CACHA (the Ottawa group with which we are affiliated). It is the place that Chris and I went to in 2007 and I really enjoyed working there again. However, I must say that the MOST fulfilling part of being in Kilema was watching the kids grow into socially-aware, carefree and independent individuals before my eyes. There were two other Canadian families with kids the same age that had been there for the better part of a year. The kids all got along wonderfully. In the mornings, they would do “home-school” with no adult supervision (the parents were working). Then they would all go to lunch together and then play soccer and explore the area with the local kids. I could not believe how quickly I became comfortable with having them “run wild” with no supervision. They were so responsible and gained my trust in the regard within days (at ages 6 and 9!!)



Seeing the Queen’s Global Health Program working:
Karen and I are Co-Directors of the burgeoning Queen’s Undergraduate Medicine Global Health Initiative. With the help of some VERY keen medical students, we have started an optional curriculum here in Kingston and we facilitated 10 students travelling to Moshi and Kilema to work and gain experience. It was a huge success and by the sounds of it, we will actually have to have a selection process this year because there are dozens of students who want to go this spring/summer. At the Center, the students were able to help and learn from Peninah, they take part in the workings of the center and interact with the residents of the shelter. They also went on home visits in villages with Agnes and developed contacts with other organisations in Moshi such as the rape crisis team. In Kilema, they gained experience by working with the physicians and surgeons, performing deliveries and taking part in surgeries and reading X-rays. They also got to spend time at the HIV clinic and do home visits with our HIV orphan program. All in all, I could not imagine a better experience for them.


In January, I am going back to do another caravan with about 25 Canadians (and a couple Americans). This caravan is a little different as we are doing a Kilimanjaro climb fundraiser at the end. It is called “The Women and the Mountain” and we are taking 5 Tanzanian women (4 of who are HIV positive) up the mountain with us. This is a HUGE deal as Tanzanians do not get to climb the mountain (the costs are prohibitive) unless they are the porters (none of whom are women). It is also a huge deal because it will do so much to raise awareness that you CAN be healthy even if you are HIV positive. We have a filmmaker coming to make a documentary. Each of the North Americans is expected to raise at least 6000 dollars (more would be even better). This will cover the costs of the caravan, medications and supplies, the African participants’ climb, and will leave about 2000 dollars per participant that will go directly to the operation of the Center. I have already contributed half of it (the costs of my travel and climb) but in case there is anyone out there who has been “wondering what cause to give to this holiday season”, I thought I would give you the information so that you might consider the Pamoja Tuneweza Center. This would help me toward my goal of raising another 3000 dollars (or more!).

If you would like to donate to the cause, you can do so at http://www.cacha.ca/donate.php . Go to that page and click the “Donate Now” button. Please make sure that you write “in the name of Jenn Carpenter”. You will get a tax receipt for anything over 20 dollars. If you donate, please also email me to let me know. If you are not able to contribute right now, don’t worry…I’m going again in October so I will be asking again!

Thank you to those who donated last time. It means a lot and I really feel that we are making a HUGE difference.

Thank you all for reading this. It is truly my passion!!


Happy Holidays.

Jenn




PS Here is a link to a YouTube piece that one of the participants put together (somehow I did not make it into any of the pictures, proving that I really DO shy away from the camera!)


http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=2iM7gKz4fCw