Wednesday, September 30, 2009

A week from tomorrow

Eight days and quickly counting. As a group, we're putting the final details on our itinerary and getting the last-minute call out for donations of funds for school fees, uniforms, and food, children's vitamins, and child-sized blankets to deliver to the orphanage. Individually, we're starting to think about the joy of packing (at least, that's as far as I've gotten...I have a running list of things I need to bring, but nothing actually in a suitcase), and taking care of details like holding the mail and paying the bills. I am alternately really excited and nauseated with anxiety about this trip, but it's mostly just the preparations that are making me nervous. Once I get on the plane, I'll be golden.

Today's task: shopping for necessary items like iodine tablets, small packets of laundry soap, and various first aid supplies.

Monday, September 28, 2009

Donations

You may notice that I've added a section in the sidebar called "Donate Now." While this seems pretty self-explanatory, I thought I should be a bit clearer about where the money is going.

We are collecting money for school uniforms, school fees, and food parcels for children in households headed by a grandparent or child because the parents have died of AIDS.
The costs are as follows:
- School uniform for two seasons: $84.50
- School fees pre-school per month: $6.50
- School fees school age per quarter: $58.50
- Food parcels for 3-person household per month: $71.50

The trip is almost entirely financed by the participants out of their own pockets, which is a significant expense in both money and time to represent the church and do the work of serving Tapologo. In order to reduce the financial strain on participants, we are also asking people to share in our ground transportation expenses (van rental and gas). Please consider how you might support this work.

You can also help by:
- Continuing to buy African candles from the Faith Bookshop at First Reformed Church
- Collecting unopened children's vitamins and dropping them off in the box in Assembly Hall.
- Knitting or sewing child-sized blankets to be delivered to Tapologo.
- Committing to the next trip to South Africa, tentatively planned for May 2010.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Countdown

We leave in eleven days!

I started this blog so we'll have a place to post pictures and stories while we're traveling, and keep an online record of our trip together. In the meantime, we'll post some background information on how this trip came about and what we plan to do while we're there.

The basic itinerary:
We depart on Oct. 8 and arrive on the 9th in Johannesburg, and travel to Rustenburg, which will be our base for most of the trip. We'll spend the first couple of days recovering from our jet lag and visiting our Uniting Reformed Church connections in the area, including participating in worship on Sunday (I'll be preaching - exciting and a little nerve-wracking, since it will be with a translator, which I've only done once before). Oct. 11-15 will be spent volunteering at Tapologo Hospice with their clinics, orphanage, and community garden. We will then travel to Johannesburg and Pretoria to connect with friends in the So. Transvaal Synod, who some of our members met on the last trip to South Africa in 2003. Some of our group will return to the U.S. on the 18th, while others go to Capetown for a couple of days before we return on Oct. 22.

So, that's the plan. 11 days and counting! Anyone have helpful packing suggestions?