Thursday, December 25, 2008
Friday, December 19, 2008
Sylvia's Children Celebrates Five Years in Africa!
On Friday, November 28, four people flew to Uganda, Africa for the sole purpose of providing a Christmas party for the children at the Mbiriizi Advanced Primary School and Day Care. As usual, the trip was full of wonderful surprises! The four people on the trip were Eileen Turcotte (from Boston and a traveler from the summer excursion), AnnMarie Hanrahan Gray (a wonderful nurse), Michele Costa (trustee of Sylvia's Children and Sylvia's daughter) and Sylvia Allen, founder of Sylvia's Children.
On Monday, December 1, the group was met by 907 children singing and dancing a special song written for Sylvia's Children. That day was spent getting ready for a large five year celebration which had been planned by Geofrey Kawuma, the founder and head of the school. And, what a celebration! The day was spent looking at children and diagnosing what was wrong and providing a solution. Nurse AnnMarie was a saint! She cured one child of an STD that she was born with and accurately diagnosed something within three children that was totally curable with an ace bandage!
On Tuesday, December 2, the entire school -- headed by a band -- paraded two miles through town. Each class had made their own sign and all 907 children paraded in a line through town. And, the townspeople turned out for the parade. There was even a Santa in the parade! In the afternoon, each child was given their own blanket as a special Christmas gift from Sylvia's Children. Do you want to know the true meaning of Christmas? See the joy of a small child, who has nothing, receiving their own blanket and wishing you a Merry Christmas.
Wednesday, December 3, was hectic! It was "moving up day" for the 4 and 5 year olds as they graduated into first grade. The ceremony included speeches by the mayor and councilmen as well as a Vice Chairman of the Masaka-Luongo district (think: Monmouth/Ocean County size for the district). All of the speakers talked about how wonderful the school was (and is) and how it continues to be a model school for the community. After handing out the diplomas a five tier cake was cut and everyone shared in the celebration. Then, the group served lunch to 907 children and 400 parents! Lastly, Christmas presents were handed to each child.
The trip was an opportunity to experience the joy of giving and sharing. The next summer trip will be June 24 to July 7 and the next Christmas trip will be November 26 to December 2, 2009 if anyone wishes to go! (For information contact Sylvia Allen @ 732-946-9639 or via e-mail sylvia@sylviaschildren.org.)
On Monday, December 1, the group was met by 907 children singing and dancing a special song written for Sylvia's Children. That day was spent getting ready for a large five year celebration which had been planned by Geofrey Kawuma, the founder and head of the school. And, what a celebration! The day was spent looking at children and diagnosing what was wrong and providing a solution. Nurse AnnMarie was a saint! She cured one child of an STD that she was born with and accurately diagnosed something within three children that was totally curable with an ace bandage!
On Tuesday, December 2, the entire school -- headed by a band -- paraded two miles through town. Each class had made their own sign and all 907 children paraded in a line through town. And, the townspeople turned out for the parade. There was even a Santa in the parade! In the afternoon, each child was given their own blanket as a special Christmas gift from Sylvia's Children. Do you want to know the true meaning of Christmas? See the joy of a small child, who has nothing, receiving their own blanket and wishing you a Merry Christmas.
Wednesday, December 3, was hectic! It was "moving up day" for the 4 and 5 year olds as they graduated into first grade. The ceremony included speeches by the mayor and councilmen as well as a Vice Chairman of the Masaka-Luongo district (think: Monmouth/Ocean County size for the district). All of the speakers talked about how wonderful the school was (and is) and how it continues to be a model school for the community. After handing out the diplomas a five tier cake was cut and everyone shared in the celebration. Then, the group served lunch to 907 children and 400 parents! Lastly, Christmas presents were handed to each child.
The trip was an opportunity to experience the joy of giving and sharing. The next summer trip will be June 24 to July 7 and the next Christmas trip will be November 26 to December 2, 2009 if anyone wishes to go! (For information contact Sylvia Allen @ 732-946-9639 or via e-mail sylvia@sylviaschildren.org.)
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Uganda in June/July 2009
By now you have all received the newsletter about our Christmas trip which was wonderful! And, it's time to start planning for summer!
Here are the details:
1. The cost is still only $3,500, in spite of higher air fares. We will be staying at the Hotel Zebra, which we have already checked out, and it is fine.
2. If you have NOT gone before, you will have to get your shots. My suggestion? Contact Passport Health as they know all the rules. Depending upon what you have (and don't have) it could cost as much as $2,500.
3. Once you have your shots you are good to go! We will send information as we go along but getting the shots (and an updated passport with a minimum of one year to go before it expires) is the most important.
As the newsletter said, the itinerary is as follows:
Leave Friday, June 26, arriving Entebbe (Uganda, Africa) on the 27th.
Spend Sunday June 28 through Friday, July 3 at the school
July 4 leave for Murchison Falls to see giraffes, zebras, lions ... and more!
July 4-5 be on Safari in Murchison Falls.
July 6 leave for Tekera (near Masaka) to visit the school, clinic and women's cooperating run by Bruce and Bridget Daley on Tuesday, 7/7.
July 7 pm ... return to the United States, arriving back on Wednesday, July 8.
This is a tentative schedule, based on flight availabilities. THERE ARE NO EXTRA CHARGES. The $3,500 covers all air fare, hotel, land transportation, water, food, the works. The only extras will be if you are flying in from Washington, Massachusetts or Iowa and have airfare from those locations. We will work with you to ensure that you get good connecting flights at a reasonable rate.
The interest in this trip is high and we will only be taking 16 people (counting me!). If you wish to come on this trip I will need a $1,000 (non-refundable) deposit to hold your spot. I will need this on or before January 15, 2009 (we need a minimum of 10 to ensure a good air fare). The balance of the trip won't be due until May.
So far, these are the people that have already indicated they are coming (need your deposits by January 15, 2009 - please write out to Allen Consulting or Sylvia Allen - I can't put it through Sylvia's Children as it is not a true donation and throws off our reporting to the IRS)
Pam Weigle
Vicky Tuccillo
Eileen Turcotte
Kristen Thomas
Tony Costa
Michele Costa
Sylvia Allen
Jeroen Moernik and his partner (they are coming from the Canary Islands - Jeroen will be with us all week, his partner will join us just for the Safari part).
There are others of you who said you would like to come; if I inadvertently left you off the list, I sincerely apologize.
Looking forward to another exciting, stimulating, rewarding trip.
Sylvia Allen
732-946-2711/cell 732-241-1144
89 Middletown Road
Holmdel, NJ 07733
Here are the details:
1. The cost is still only $3,500, in spite of higher air fares. We will be staying at the Hotel Zebra, which we have already checked out, and it is fine.
2. If you have NOT gone before, you will have to get your shots. My suggestion? Contact Passport Health as they know all the rules. Depending upon what you have (and don't have) it could cost as much as $2,500.
3. Once you have your shots you are good to go! We will send information as we go along but getting the shots (and an updated passport with a minimum of one year to go before it expires) is the most important.
As the newsletter said, the itinerary is as follows:
Leave Friday, June 26, arriving Entebbe (Uganda, Africa) on the 27th.
Spend Sunday June 28 through Friday, July 3 at the school
July 4 leave for Murchison Falls to see giraffes, zebras, lions ... and more!
July 4-5 be on Safari in Murchison Falls.
July 6 leave for Tekera (near Masaka) to visit the school, clinic and women's cooperating run by Bruce and Bridget Daley on Tuesday, 7/7.
July 7 pm ... return to the United States, arriving back on Wednesday, July 8.
This is a tentative schedule, based on flight availabilities. THERE ARE NO EXTRA CHARGES. The $3,500 covers all air fare, hotel, land transportation, water, food, the works. The only extras will be if you are flying in from Washington, Massachusetts or Iowa and have airfare from those locations. We will work with you to ensure that you get good connecting flights at a reasonable rate.
The interest in this trip is high and we will only be taking 16 people (counting me!). If you wish to come on this trip I will need a $1,000 (non-refundable) deposit to hold your spot. I will need this on or before January 15, 2009 (we need a minimum of 10 to ensure a good air fare). The balance of the trip won't be due until May.
So far, these are the people that have already indicated they are coming (need your deposits by January 15, 2009 - please write out to Allen Consulting or Sylvia Allen - I can't put it through Sylvia's Children as it is not a true donation and throws off our reporting to the IRS)
Pam Weigle
Vicky Tuccillo
Eileen Turcotte
Kristen Thomas
Tony Costa
Michele Costa
Sylvia Allen
Jeroen Moernik and his partner (they are coming from the Canary Islands - Jeroen will be with us all week, his partner will join us just for the Safari part).
There are others of you who said you would like to come; if I inadvertently left you off the list, I sincerely apologize.
Looking forward to another exciting, stimulating, rewarding trip.
Sylvia Allen
732-946-2711/cell 732-241-1144
89 Middletown Road
Holmdel, NJ 07733
Friday, December 12, 2008
Back from Africa!
We have just returned from an exciting, whirlwind trip to the Mbiriizi Advanced Primary School in Uganda , Africa . And, although there were only four of us, we got a lot done! The four were Michele Costa, my daughter; Eileen Turcotte, from the summer trip; and< AnnMarie Hanrahan Gray, a nurse from Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch.
Read More!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)