News From Sylvia!

It's newsletter time again and more news to share about our Mbiriizi Advanced Primary and Day Care School in Uganda, Africa. Sometimes it is hard to know where to start because so much happens in 60 days! However, here goes!

TRIP

Thirteen of us went to the school from June 17-28 and it was, once again, a great trip. Everyone worked! Joe Corpina worked in the kitchen and had the ladies trained to be singers and dancers! Way to go Joe! Michele Costa and her crew (Ruby and Briana Stanfield) worked tirelessly repairing uniforms for the children. Gina Fontes, Jon Bellomo and Kyle McMorrow were our video crew from Hofstra University and they did a GREAT job. We are anxiously awaiting the final product.

If there was any down time Joe, Jon and Kyle played soccer, tug-o-war and basketball with the children. Ken Schneck, Caitlin Landuyt and Doug Brown were on the orphan inventory team and were very thorough in their efforts. In addition, they visited all our orphans in secondary school (more to follow on that under medical/dental). Tony Costa spent three days teaching guitar to the children and Cris Vitsorek (who brought computers for the school) was training Florence, the headmistress, on how to use the computer.

Sylvia worked with the folks on orphan inventory and, on Wednesday and Thursday, took 40 children each day to the dentists. They loved Grand Slyvia on the trip to the dentist; they weren't too sure on the trip back! So, that was the schedule Monday through Thursday.

Friday was party day! OK, so it rained a little ... nothing could dampen our spirits! First we dedicated the Teachers' Housing which is now done thanks to a generous donation by JoDee Anderson (Bayshore Hospital Nurse of the Year) and her husband. This was followed by cake cutting and having 1,000 children singing happy birthday to you to Briana who turned 17 while in Africa. What a wonderful memory for the rest of her life! Then, it was time to serve lunch.

We have some experience at this so are getting good at feeding 1,000 children rice and meat in sauce (or peanut sauce for the vegetarians)! We did it all in 1 hour 45 minutes! Of course, the day ended with singing and dancing and crying as we all realized the week had come to an end (several said "can't we stay one more week?).

We then drove that night to Isasha Park (which is one of the sub parks within Queen Elizabeth State Park) and had a quiet, restful night in wonderful little round pod houses. Next day, off to the park to see tree lions and we did! What a beautiful sight! After that, drove to Mweya Lodge, seeing many elephants and other animals along the way; took a boat ride down the Kazinga Channel to see hippos, water buffalos, alligators and hundreds of different bird species.

That night Briana had another birthday party at the Mweya Lodge ... turning 17 in Africa is fun! Sunday did a game drive ... saw a leopard, lion and tons of elephants. Drove to Kampala to do some shopping at the market and then to the hotel as we had to be at the airport @ 3 am. Trust me folks, we will never do those flights again!

TEACHERS' HOUSING

It was so wonderful to be able to dedicate the teachers' housing! There are a total of 10 units, five for men and five for women, and we can now rest easy that our children will be better protected. Thank you JoDee and Lawrence for your wonderful, generous, kind contributions.

STARBUCKS FUNDRAISER

Thanks to the brainchild of Brenda Thaner, we were able to have a clothing drive at 11 Starbucks stores in New Jersey. The dates were May 1 to June 15 and we collected 16,000 pounds which, when multiplied by 15¢ a pound generated $2,400 for Sylvia's Children. The employees loved it, the customers loved it and we loved it! As a result we will be doing another one, hopefully expanded through New Jersey, September 15-November 1. Stay tuned for locations!

Sylvia's Children will be one of the charities of choice when the Starbucks NJ folks do their annual baseball game competition. We feel so honored to be working with a company of this caliber and integrity.

LAKEWOOD BLUE CLAWS

Sylvia's Children is one of the 501(c)3 organizations being featured by this year's Lakewood Blue Claws. Thanks to Josh Feinberg, who has moved on to the Oakland Raiders, we have had exposure through their marketing materials and will have a display on July 28 (that's a Wednesday) at the ballpark. Does anyone want to "staff the booth" with me? Could be fun!

MILLSTONE THEATRE FUNDRAISER

On Saturday, July 31, the Millstone Theatre will be putting on a special Elvis performance that will benefit Sylvia's Children and CentraState. Thanks to Laurie Edwards, producer extraordinaire! For tickets visit www.NJTheatreGroup.com.

CHRISTMAS IN JULY

This year, for our Christmas party for the children, in addition to all the fun goodies ... sweets, sunglasses, visors, stickers, pencils, glow necklaces ... each girl will receive a new dress and each boy a new shirt. We are doing this fun drive now so we can purchase the products in Uganda in time for Christmas. Not only is this great for the school it is great for the community's economy.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS

We are celebrating Christmas in July so the children at the Mbiriizi Advanced Primary and Day Care School in Uganda, Africa CAN have a wonderful Christmas. Every year we put on a Christmas party with a Christmas "feast". The meal is beans and rice (but with meat added for the occasion!), soda and cake. This year we would like to give each boy a new shirt and each girl a new dress. (Many of these children only have one uniform and one change of clothes.)

A new shirt is $6.00 and a new dress is $8.00. We have 1,000 children at the school. Will you help us give these children a beautiful Christmas? If paying by check, please make payable to:

Sylvia's Children, Inc.., 89 Middletown Road, Holmdel, NJ 07733

Or, you can go to the website www.sylviaschildren.org and click on the Donate Now button on the top right.

TEETH AND THREADS FUNDRAISER

Ken Schneck, one of our summer travelers, came up with a great idea for a fundraiser. As you saw in the first paragraph dental work was quite a project! Also, repairing uniforms.

So, out of that came the Teeth and Threads fundraiser. We need 1,000 people to send us $20 each ... if we can do that we can give EVERY child a new uniform and get all the teeth taken care of! Want to donate? Just go to www.sylviaschildren.org and click on the Donate Now button in the top right corner. Or, you can mail a check to Sylvia's Children, 89 Middletown Road, Holmdel, NJ 07733

Off to the dentist!

MEDICAL/DENTAL UPDATE

LOTS of dental work needed. However, thanks to the generosity of two people we were able to raise $5,500 of the $7,500 needed. And, I cannot begin to thank ALL the dentists that donated toothbrushes, tooth paste, the works! It was wonderful! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

CHICKEN FUNDRAISER

Briana Stanfield delivered $3,500 to the school to start the chicken farm. Now, we need chickens! For $2.00 you can buy (and name) a chicken; for $20.00 you can have a brood and for $80.00 you can have a flock! Again, just go to the website. Don't forget to tell us the name of your chicken(s)!

NEXT TRIP

Want to come with us November 18 to the 25th? This is when we put on a Christmas party for the children and I guarantee it will be the best gift you will ever give yourself. They are full of love and vitality and are grateful for anything that we give them. The cost is $2,500 and, for this trip only, there is no safari.

Just FYI ... the medical trip is in March, summer trip latter part of July/early July and ... SAVE THE DATE! June/July 2012, after visiting and working at the school, we will go trekking with the gorillas! Get those walking shoes out and be prepared the opportunity of a lifetime. All inclusive price is still $3,500 BUT we have to add an additional $500 to get a gorilla permit! :)

Water carrying in the 21st century @ the Mbiriizi school in Uganda, Africa. Wagon courtesy of Matovu Tony (purchased after he thought HE was going to have to carry water!)

THANK YOU STARBUCKS AND THANK YOU STARBUCKS’ CUSTOMERS!

The clothing drive was a phenomenal success!

You donated 16,000 pounds which generated $2,400!!!!!

Your donation paid for seven orphans for one full year … food, clothing, lodging, education and health care!

Watch for another clothing drive in the fall!

Holmdel Medical Practitioner Named “Nurse of the Year” After Assisting Over 1,000 African Children

HOLMDEL, NJ… When registered nurse JoDee Anderson traveled to Uganda, Africa, this year with charity organization Sylvia’s Children, she knew she would be helping to change the lives of countless children, many left orphaned by the AIDS pandemic. However, she never realized that she would also be changing the lives of those who work around her at home.

Recently, after returning from her philanthropic mission, she was awarded the prestigious title of “2010 Nurse of the Year” by her peers at The Willows in Holmdel, an assisted living community connected with Bayshore Community Health Services.

Since Holmdel-based Sylvia’s Children was founded in 2003, many nurses and doctors have jumped on board to make a difference by providing their necessary, skilled medical services to the 1,001 children at the Mbiriizi Advanced Primary and Day Care School in Mbiriizi, Uganda, Africa.

On the first medical trip in 2009, Long Branch nurse AnnMarie Gray brought with her a dose of Penicillin and bandages, which she used to cure a 5-year old girl with Syphilis and five children living with umbilical hernias.

On the organization’s most recent medical trip this past March, three nurses, including Anderson, Betsy Ann Gilbert of Crestwood, KY., and Dora Burke of Cranford, N. J., as well as Dr. Tricia Gilbert, a Pulmonary and Intensive Care Specialist at New Jersey’s Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, all visited the school and provided a rigorous clinical examination of each child to produce individual medical histories as a baseline for future medical service.

They also administered treatment for many of the ailments they encountered, most of which included anything from diseases of poverty to consequences of malnutrition and complications of HIV/AIDS; and even arranged for much-needed and sometimes life-saving operations for some of the children.

But this certainly won’t be the last medical trip; there is already another one scheduled for March 2011, and Sylvia’s Children founder Sylvia Allen firmly emphasizes the need for more nurse practitioners, nurses and doctors to come on the journey.

“The most important thing anyone can do is to save a child’s life,” states Allen. “From the start, a child is given the blueprint to change the world, if enabled with the compassion of others. In sub-Saharan Africa, these children feel as if they have fewer opportunities, but that is not the case. Just by feeling the warm touch of a nurse’s hand or by relieving these children from their unfortunate ailments, we can help to change the world one child at a time.”

This school is the first of many models of African entrepreneurship being created by Sylvia’s Children, an organization which raises funds and awareness for orphaned African youth. The non-profit seeks to help the school create a self-sustainable economy for itself, which will then be shared with schools in surrounding sub-Saharan African villages.

Since its launch, the organization has succeeded in ensuring an annual sponsorship for 98 of the 235-orphaned children and has raised $330,000, all of which has gone directly to the school. It has built a fresh well and a fully stocked library; purchased seven acres of land; donated an Internet-equipped computer; constructed a dormitory with triple-decker bunk beds; built a playground; provided sporting and musical equipment; and built three additional double classroom blocks as well as providing a full-time nurse and new stoves for increased cooking efficiency. In addition the orphans that go on to secondary school continue to receive sponsorship until they graduate.

For more information, to sign up for a trip or to become a volunteer, visit www.sylviaschildren.org, call (732) 946-2711 or e-mail Allen at Sylvia@sylviaschildren.org.