Notre Dame Orphanage

Yesterday we went to an orphanage about 15 minutes from where we are staying. We stopped on the way at a market to buy fresh fruits and veggies for the kids. We also distributed all of the scoool supplies that we collected. SHOING is sponsoring fresh fruits and veggies for the kids for an entire year. They were so happy to get the supplies. We have some more pictures on our snapfish account http://http://www5.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=759418027/a=1375718027/

Village Health Works Clinic

Yesterday we went to the Village Health Works in Bururi (about a 2 hour drive from Bujumbura). The VHW was founded in 2006 by a man named Deogratias, who is a native Burundian doctor, and the main character of the book Strength in what Remains by Tracy Kidder. The clinic has expanded to include in and outpatient facilities, malnutrition facility, pharmacy, technology center, and a demonstration garden. The garden is so important because the workers can show local Burundians what types of vegetables can grow in their climate. Currently, 65% of the children of Burundi are suffering from malnutrition as a result of consuming a nutrient poor diet. People consume cassava which is a tuber like veggie that provides no nutrients, but grows in abundance and is easy to prepare. VHW provides morenga, a nasty tasting herb that is dried and sprinkled over food, which provides all of the nutrients that the Burundian people are lacking. The morenga is given to treat malnutrition, and the seeds are given to the families to plant so that further occasions of malnutrition are avoided.

The clinic is very high up in the mountains with beautiful scenery. Even better than that, is the fact that the high altitude makes it so there are no mosquitos. The clinic provides food and housing for all volunteers and workers, which will come in handy for next years trip. The clinic has 1 Burundian doctor, 1 American doctor, 5 nurses (who are diagnosing and writing prescriptions, but are at the functional level of a Patient Care Assistant), and 2 translators. Also, the clinic is run entirely on US donations, and does not charge patients for consultations. However, if a patient is able to pay they are asked to (not always in money, but sometimes in livestock, supplies, or hours—once they are better). In the evenings, VHW provides English lessons for all of the doctors, nurses, and community members. This clinic would be great to go to next year. It is run entirely on solar power and produces most of the food that the patients eat (except for the rice). We were excited to hear the that they are starting construction on a new building which will serve as a maternal clinic for the Burundian people (hopefully it will be done by the time we come back next year!).

We were surprised when the Burundian Drummers came up the mountain to give us a private performance. To see the drummers and all other pictures that we took check out our snapfish page:

Thanks!

Liz, Jayne and Amanda

Click here to view photos

Clinic Visits

Today we visited the Clinton Health Access Initiative and Nurses Without Borders and got a lot of really great information. The primary need of the Burundian people is education. By working with both of these organizations, we can educate Burundian people and healthcare workers. One of the possible subjects that we can educate on is sexual/reproductive health to adolescents. We can educate the healthcare workers on proper hygiene and a proper diet, while they can teach us how to provide care in a resource poor setting.

Some pictures

Hi, rather than putting tons of pictures on the blog, we uploaded them onto snapfish. You can click the link below to see all of the pics
Click here to view photos

We're finally here!!

WE MADE IT! After a small flight delay in Washington D.C set us back a little bit, we made it to Bujumbura, Burundi at about 3:00pm Burundi time (about 8:00am Cincinnati time). We are still adjusting to the time changes, but slept most of the 28 hour flight. We had a delicious dinner provided by Tom and Jana, and enjoyed a leisurely swim. Tomorrow we are sight seeing, and Monday we are meeting with Nurses without Borders and a representative from the Clinton Foundation to discuss possible opportunities for next years trip. The internet is super slow, so we'll try to post some more pictures tomorrow

Thanks for all of the support

Jayne, Liz, and Amanda

12 days....

Hi!!
We leave for Bujumbura in 12 days and we are super excited. We would just like to thank everyone who has supported us and our trip throughout this entire process. We have been planning this trip for over a year, and its wierd to think that its finally here! Below are some pictures of the educational supplies that we are taking to the orphanage and the AIDS clinic that we are visiting. Thank you for all of your support!
Jayne, Liz and Amanda

Thank you to everyone who ate LaRosa's from the Bridgetown store today and made our fundraiser such a hugh success!!!

Liz, Jayne, and Amanda with our guest of honor Buddy LaRosa

LaRosa's Fundraiser Night 10/6/09!!!!!

Tuesday, October 6, we are have a fundraiser at the Bridgetown LaRosa's (6607 Glenway). All you have to do is order dine-in, delivery, or carry-out during the whole day and turn in a flyer, and we'll get a donation equal to 20% of your order. The flyer won't load onto this site, but we can email you a copy if you need it. Email us at shoing@live.com if you are interested in attending and we can send you the flyer or just come up to the LaRosa's and we'll have some extras. If you place delivery order, make sure to give the driver your flyer. Hope to see y'all there!
PS YOU NEED TO TURN IN THE FLYER FOR US TO GET THE DONATION
Thanks!!

Support the MS Society

Today we went to Camp Kern in Oregonia, Ohio to volunteer at the MS 150 Bike Ride. Matt Chalk (Jayne and Liz's cousin) participated in the bike ride and we went to cheer him on and to provide the other riders with a delicious lunch after the race. Below is the link to the MS Society website. http://www.nationalmssociety.org/index.aspx

SHOING Fundraiser at the Bridgetown LaRosa's

Today, April 30, we are have a fundraiser at the Bridgetown LaRosa's (6607 Glenway). All you have to do is order dine-in, delivery, or carry-out during the whole day and turn in a flyer, and we'll get a donation equal to 20% of your order. Email us at shoing@live.com if you are interested in attending and we can send you the flyer or just come up to the LaRosa's and we'll have some extras. If you order delivery, ask your driver if they have any extra flyers. Hope to see y'all there!

Watch this...it's amazing!

Saint Joseph Home of Cincinnati Annual 5K Race

This weekend we volunteered at the Saint Joseph Home of Cincinnati Annual 5K Race. We worked the waterstop for the final leg of the race. A lot of the runners were happy to see us when they came up the hill! Here are some pictures of the event:
Liz and Amanda pre-race enjoying some delicious starbucks

Group shot of the 3 of us (Liz, Jayne and Amanda)

Liz and Amanda waiting for the runners to climb up the steep Wyscarver hill to the finish line

The start of the race

UPDATE of what SHOING has been up to!

Recent Events
· Stand with Africa Summit: held at Purcell Marian High School
· New contacts formed along with various information
· Selling SHOING bracelets (yellow and blue silicone wristbands that say, “Make a difference”).
· Selling blood plasma at PlasmaCare
· Established non-profit organization w/ tax ID number and PO Box address
Upcoming Events
· Volunteering at the Students for a Better Cincinnati Service Event on April 18.
· Volunteering at St. Joseph Home of Cincinnati for the Annual 5K Race (We are also distributing flyers at the race)
· LaRosa’s fundraising night: April 30, 2009 (we’ll also distribute flyers about our organization).
· Ladies Bunco Night: early June in honor of Emily VonderMuellen
· Sending letters out to friends and family
· Look into working at the stadiums, Kings Island, and Biggs Bagging
· Forming medical supplies drives

Some exciting news...

It's official! We received notification today that SHOING has been approved as a certified non-profit organization by the Secretary of State for Ohio!!! Stay tuned for information on our upcoming events!

Hi! Here is a picture of the bracelets that we are selling. We are selling the bracelets for $2 each. Please let us know if you have any questions, ideas, or would like to participate in our fundraising events! We will keep you posted. Thank you for all your support and generosity.

Just an update:
This past Saturday the three of us went to an African seminar and attended a workshop there that focused on health care. The workshop reiterated information that we have already obtained through research and from Lieutenant Col. Miller; but we also learned new information. For example, the African harvest is for about 9 months of the year and the other three months they have barely any harvest. During these months many struggle to get food. A current issue is teaching them about preserving food, so they will have surplus food to last them throughout the three months of no harvest. Another thing we learned is the mosquito nets that are often sent over there are not always used for the purpose they are intended for, preventing insect bites while sleeping. People use them for fishing, instead of protection. In Africa the majority of homes are not set up like a typical home in the US; multiple people can be sleeping in one bed. Therefore, it may be more beneficial for them to use the nets to catch fish. Screens for windows and doors could be more realistic to prevent mosquitoes and other insects from entering their homes. The meeting was helpful and informative! We also applied to be a non-profit organization on Monday, which will be called SHOING, Students Helping Others In Need Globally. Once we are establish as a non-profit organization, we will file for a tax id number and set up a bank account. Once we have achieved this we can start fundraising. We are eager and excited to start this process. We just received bracelets, similar to the LIVE STRONG ones, yellow and blue with white writing, that says, "Make a difference". We are in the process of uploading a picture of them. We are selling the bracelets for $2 a piece. Please let us know if you have any questions, ideas, or would like to participate in our fundraising events! We will keep you posted. Thank you for all your support and generosity.

First Donation

We have recieved our first donation of 25 dollars!!!!

Here is a little info about our goals..

We are three sophomore nursing students at the College of Mount St. Joseph (in Cincinnati, Ohio) who want to make a difference in the world. We have a chance to do that by working with Lt. Colonel Tom Miller while he is in Burundi. Originally, we had just planned on collecting and sending medical supplies to Burundi, but now we know that education is the most crucial need of the Burundian people. Knowing this, we came up with an idea for a possible immersion trip with our school for December 2009, which we pitched to Sister Mary Bookser, Service Learning Coordinator at the College of MSJ. Sister Mary then presented the information to the nursing staff. While the nursing staff was unable to be involved in trip in December 2009, they expressed interest in participating in other ways and possibly becoming involved with an immersion trip in December 2010. Rather than delaying the trip until 2010, we decided to divide the trip into 2 phases.
· Phase One: We (Amanda, Liz and Jayne) will travel to Burundi in December 2009 to conduct a Site Survey/Fact Finding trip. During this trip, we will meet with government and health officials, along with Burundian people to assess their needs. We will also assess what we, as MSJ nursing students, are able to do and look for possible accommodations for the December 2010 Immersion trip. This trip will also help us to answer some of the questions posed by the MSJ nursing staff. Upon returning to the US, we will report all information acquired on our visit to all parties involved. Using the information acquired on our trip, we will start collecting supplies and donations from the school and the community. Over the course of the next year, we will educate our fellow nursing students on the current health issues facing the Burundian people so that we are prepared and able to help in any and every way possible. After Phase One is a success, we hope that the school will become involved in Phase Two.
· Phase Two: In December 2010, a small group of MSJ nursing students and an advisor will travel to Burundi as an immersion trip. We will bring all donations (medical supplies/equipment, clothing, etc) that we were able to collect since our last trip. We will go out into the communities to distribute the donated items and do some education in some of the communities with Burundian people about preventable health issues and safe practices.
We feel that this trip is a great way to carry out the Mount’s Mission. The trip would be an excellent learning experience that integrates life and learning. By going to Burundi, students will reinforce the Mount’s Mission by doing service to others while experiencing the different cultures and learning from the cultures on how to be better nurses.

Thank you for your time and support.
Liz, Jayne, and Amanda

hey! I am really excited!! I can not wait till we are over in Africa making videos :)