Light Through the Chaos

I see it! I see it! Two days to go and I finally see how it's all going to come together in time. I spoke to two Harding Biology classes today and two tomorrow. They are doing some fund-raising and change rattling around the school. They wrote little letters to the Congolese kids that were really touching. One Chinese exchange student with little to say drew a picture of a young girl holding a guitar. Not bad for the 5 minutes they had to write the notes. We took pictures of the authors of the letters to show to the Tayna children .
I am grateful ....to the Academy. No, I am really grateful to all the people that make this project possible. The doctors who were sensible enough to rescue Medical supplies before they went into the trash, all the people with encouragement for a dream even if they didn't understand what had gotten into me, all the donors of large and small amounts, and anyone who thought it was a good idea and had some time to volunteer. I'm grateful for the mentors at No Boundaries who volunteered hours of free advice to a novice; most of which I have followed.
This will be my last post from American soil. I'm hoping to find a cyber cafe or two in Africa. I wonder where the nearest Starbuck's is to Goma, Congo?

Eight big boxes to the Airport

Seven days to departure. A friend has offered his trailer to deliver the 8 boxes to the airport. I'll be looking for friends to meet us there to transfer the boxes from the trailer to the Airline Checkout. I'll also look for someone with a truck to standby in case of car breakdown or emergency...always good to have a plan B.
Sister Augusta just emailed me about an emergency situation coming up where she cannot offer me the accommodation I was so happy to have.
On Monday and Tuesday I'll be speaking to several middle school Biology classes about the trip. They are starting a school fundraising effort. I'll take their pictures and pen pal letters to the kids in Africa. Today, I fell asleep while reading a book in a straight up sitting position. What a strange way to wake up. It appears I'll be able to sleep on the plane after all.

I wanted to go back

After a year and a half of planning, I'm finally down to counting 13 days before departure. I went from being very moved by a friend's travel photo of a little orphan girl about 3 years old in a pretty dress. I wondered where she'd gotten it and assumed it had to be her most prized possession. (Since she possesses nothing but what she wears...and I mean nothing) I spent about a month haunting thrift stores for the very best little sundresses I could find. I cleaned and ironed them, sewed new buttons on them, sewed ruffles around the hems and then hung them on the canopy over my bed. They were what I saw last thing before sleeping and first thing when I woke up. Those were the good old days before I left the naive do-gooder phase for the harsh reality phase of the high dollar amount it costs to get anything, no matter how precious and pretty to Africa. Then facing the dollar commitment, it became clear there were other things much more precious that should be taken....like medical supplies and life-saving medicines. Then there was the phase where I learned much more than I wanted to know about the extent of poverty, genocide and hunger measured in incomprehensible numbers like millions of deaths and millions of orphans. I read that 20% of children under 5 years old die of preventable diseases like malaria. After reading statistics from World Health Organization, I went home overwhelmed ; I filled a glass of wine and ironed pretty little dresses. I bathed myself in pretty colors like pinks, yellows, lavenders, powder blues. I concentrated on little iron-on butterflies, ladybugs, flowers, and all the innocent details found on little girls dresses. I tried my very best to make the reality of Africa pretty and innocent. I think I wanted to go back. But I went forward instead and here I am ....13 days to go.

Pajamas

Today I heard back from Sister Augusta. It turns out her convent is in Butare, known to be the most beautiful town in Rwanda. Yesterday, it suddenly occurred to me that I was leaving in two weeks. Oh shit! I don't know. I must have just been in my happy place. Who loses track of when they're leaving for Africa? I do have the excuse I've been under the influence of cold medication. Yeah. That's it. I'm still worried about my pets but that is a vast reduction of my list of things to worry about. Except for some pajamas since most places have a bathroom down the hall or in the bushes. I wouldn't want to appear indifferent to fashion during my nighttime excursions. It also occurred to me I'll be BACK from Africa in six weeks! That's really weird.

Aid Worker Found Some Peace

How do I accept the limits of what I can do....even before I've experienced Africa first hand. I'm going to have to settle for taking far less supplies and medicine than I wanted to for lack of funds. But I realized that no matter how much I was able to do (even if I'd been able to bring the 10 bags I originally planned), when I get there it will feel like I'm spitting in the wind. So, the task is to spit in the wind and find purpose and satisfaction in the miniscule difference you can make. It will mean something to the kid that gets antibiotics that stops the heart valve damage that untreated Strep infection can cause. So, I let it go. I had my first peaceful day in several weeks on the couch with a good mystery book yesterday. I think I'm on to something.

Always a New Twist

I met with my amazing mentors/co-travelers last night. Always a great education and boost to my shaky confidence. There's a leg of our trip from Goma to Butembo before the 4 hours of switchback ground travel to the Tayna Nature Reserve. This Goma to Butembo is a flight in a puddle jumper (my personal favorite). Well, the luggage limit for this trip is 30 lbs! 30lbs? 30lbs?:( This means packing for a camping trip (except for the tent) Mosquito repellant, mosquito net for bed, travel size, toothpaste, sunblock. hand sanitizer. Flashlight and batteries, camera, toilet paper, soap, camera...you get the idea. It also requires the purchase of another smaller nylon duffle bag. 30 lbs? Never a dull moment!

How does an aid worker find peace?

Since I missed my deadline for the free medicine from a non-profit here, I requested local Goma prices for medicine I might purchase there. Since I received that list, I'm comparing it to prices I can get from another "discount" source and/or off-the-shelf Wal-mart type medicines. Lesson learned this week is: I need to really let go of MY IDEA of what I want to give. This is a greater task than most would believe. Because it takes highly compulsive dedication to stick with all this to begin with. It's like putting the brakes on a NASCAR when you really wanted to reach the finish line. The lesson is to be accepting of what I can't do compared to what I want to do. This feels like a very good discipline to develop before getting to Africa and seeing the reality and extent of the level of need. It will always be bigger and beyond my desire to fulfill it. So, how does an aid worker find peace? I'll have to ask the ones I meet.

Sister Augusta

I received an invitation to stay at a Rwanda Convent. All accommodation and meals in exchange for conversational English lessons. This gives me tremendous comfort to know I have a safe haven. I am so caught up in unsolvable problems and feel inadequate so much of the time.....that the task of speaking English seems so doable and within my capacities....Well, it's a great relief. (no pun intented)
Debi (my mentor and co-traveler) says the dorm availability in Tayna is now back to 7 days from 2 days. So, I'm back to going all the way to Tayna again. And she says the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund people are arranging our Visa from that end so I do not have to mail away my passport to their consolate this late in the schedule. I was getting a little reluctant to let it go. Now, I don't have to. Thank you Sister Augusta for the deep breath and relief I just felt.

Bought Airline Ticket....Commitment.

The ticket is purchased for departure date of April 9th. It means I'll arrive in Goma on Saturday afternoon the 11th. The countdown is now starting.

Jennifer, Oh, Jennifer

I got a referral to Jennifer at the AirServ office in Entebbe who says "fear not" they can store the luggage in their secure office at the airport if I must make an overnight lay over in Entebbe. The worrisome nightmare is over. It was a vision of me perched on a pile of suitcases asking passersby who presumably speak English to please go get me a sandwich. I'm also beginning to think that this shuttle of cargo may be free. I've asked them 4 or 5 times what the price will be and no one ever replies to this question. Yeh!

If you Blog it, they will come.

I'm certain that no one is reading this. No worries, it's keeping me sane to get this down. New wrinkle. I need approval and confirmation of my status in order to qualify for the AirServe company to transport supplies into Goma. I can only make definate plans after such confirmation. I cannot get the appropriate confirmation without specifying my travel dates on the application. Let's see...this is a circle....I should be more comfortable with this.

If I'd Only Known

Lots of whining to follow:
I'm not a linear thinker. I think in bubbles, swirling around one another. And I am definitely not a backward linear thinker. Now I have to get established as a non-profit affiliated person with an organization registered in DRC and on the working list of AirServ who will help forward the cargo the last leg of trip from Entebbe to Goma. I have to have this leg confirmed before I buy my plane ticket from OKC to Entebbe. It would be a nightmare to arrive at Entebbe without the capacity to continue through to Goma. I don't want to get stuck with 10 bags of luggage unable to move with no promise of transport to where I want to go. I need to have a confirmed ticket from OKC to Entebbe before submitting my applications for the medical supplies and medicines I want to take. Some of them need an 8 weeks lead time. The clock is ticking and I am at about 6 weeks out now. I'm trying to coordinate my arrival with my OKC friends who are more experienced and can do some hand-holding. Also trying to coordinate with a friend's offer to watch my dogs. Her availability is time limited and as the trip gets postponed, her window is closing. How on earth do large projects ever get coordinated and completed? It's a vast mystery to me. I've already seen some very improbable things come to pass and I'm really counting on it.

New Blog

I've started this blog for the purpose of checking in from Africa, announcing where I am and that I'm safe for worried/concerned friends. I was told that Rwanda has lots of cybercafes so......

Kathryn's New Blog

I've started this blog to send posts from Africa. I will be making use of cyber cafes so I don't know how often I'll be posting info. So far, my departure date will be April 6th.