Monday, September 14, 2009

Every Blogger Needs a Good Computer

This year Spanda, Inc. will be taking two laptop computers to give to the KipKarin health care clinic. During our ten-day trip, we will be using the computers to report back to our families, friends, and community detailing our daily activities and observations.

Spanda prides itself on being an environmentally friendly organization. This year we were pleased to obtain two laptop computers from the Midwest Electronic Recovery Company, which is quietly located in Walford, Iowa. They are the largest computer and electronic recycling center in Iowa and are the proud recipients of the Governor’s Iowa Environmental Excellence Award and the 2002 Recycled Product Manufacturing Award.

As chronicled recently on 60 Minutes, electronic recycling is a huge problem facing developing countries. Over 80% of the United States electronic waste is sent to overseas countries for recycling purposes. Midwest Electronic Recovery does not export computer or electronic equipment to developing countries like China, India, or Pakistan where child labor is often exploited and the enforcement of safety and environmental standards are sorely lacking. We were proud to learn that we had a recycling company of such high standards in our own back yard.

Midwest Electronic Recovery also operates an outlet store where you can find great deals on hardly-used computer towers, laptops, printers, and much more. The next time you need computer equipment, consider checking them out. For more information on their products and services, visit www.mcbia.com. Recycle, Reuse, and Protect Our Environment—it takes only a single action!

Making a Difference, One Drop at a Time

The Pure Water Foundation, Inc. - John & Mary Jo Hays

During our upcoming trip to Kenya, we will be taking two water chlorination systems for use at the KipKarin clinic and village. The systems were developed by Iowa’s own John Hays. Mr. Hays is the water superintendent of Washington, Iowa, and has taken on the personal mission of supplying water systems to developing countries. The need for clean water remains the number one need as nearly 40% of our world’s population lacks basic sanitation, while one billion of our world’s citizenry lacks access to clean drinking water. That is a staggering 20% of our world’s population! Uganda has the largest population without safe drinking water—followed closely by Kenya.

The Hays’ have founded their own nonprofit, the Pure Water for All Foundation with the aptly stated mission statement, “Making a difference, ONE drop at a time”. Through their efforts they have supplied villages in Africa, India, Asia, Russia, Europe, Nicaragua, Haiti, Mexico, Columbia, and Venezuela with water filtration systems.

Their chlorination system uses a salt solution that runs through a solar charged chlorine generator several times. The result is chlorine that can treat several hundred gallons of contaminated water.

This picture, courtesy of John Hays, shows a baby cemetery in Tanzania, Africa. When Randy and Carol Luth met with Mr. Hays, he shared with them that he thought this odd looking field was some sort of tribal garden. Unfortunately, he quickly learned this was not a garden but a cemetery where the villagers buried their babies-- many victims of diseases caused by dirty water. Before introducing his water chlorination system to the village, there were over 120 cases of typhoid per month. Today the village is down to just two cases of typhoid per month thanks to clean water! No more baby cemeteries!

Spanda, Inc is pleased to provide the chlorination system as well as the training to use the chlorinator to our Kenyan friends. We are all very excited to work with Rotary International to drill a well which will provide a fresh water supply to the entire KipKarin village. The initial survey has been completed. We all greatly appreciate our Rotary partners and the Hays’ for helping us to bring clean water to our Kenyan neighbors. It truly does take only a single idea and a single drop of clean water to move the world!

Friday, September 11, 2009

Join Us for an Evening of Wine Tasting

Metro Rotary North Fundraiser to Benefit Spanda Inc.

Drinking wine is a luxury many Americans can afford. But imagine for just moment what it would be like for you if you did not have this luxury. Or if water, for that matter, was the luxury. We turn a knob on our faucet and out comes clean drinkable water. This is not true for far too many people on the African continent. While there are millions of Africans without clean drinking water, we can only focus on a relatively small area in the east African country of Kenya for now.

Two years ago Dr. Fitzgerald raised money to build an eye and health care clinic in KipKarin, Kenya. The village needed to add a health clinic. But it’s just not that easy. One need leads to another to another. In order to build the health clinic, the village needed a constant source of clean water. Most of us cannot begin to understand the absence of such a basic human requirement. We need not feel guilty for having clean running water; however, after witnessing conditions where this is not the case, there is a sense of appreciation and pride for having a clean and constant source of drinkable water.

From that pride stems a burning desire to help someone gain what we know to be possible. What is possible is that with money raised here in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, through our partnership with Metro North Rotary, a well will be drilled supplying the village with a fresh and clean water supply. It is the goal to begin digging the well this fall. But that creates another need. We have the clinic and we have fresh water (or we will soon). What more is needed? We have identified two new projects. The first is buying an ultrasound machine for the new clinic. The second will be to help KipKarin locals establish a supply of a “Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food” product, which will help to combat severe malnutrition faced by the Kenyans. When given to a child this product can provide life-sustaining vitamins and minerals and the ability to stave off hunger during the current drought and famine. It’s a fascinating food supplement that you can look up on the web for more information.

We are raising money (with the help of Metro North Rotary) to provide a supply of this product to the Kenyan village. Amazingly simple! All we need is the money to provide this life sustaining product. It’s always about the money, isn’t it? In this case, we are drinking and tasting wine as a social event in order to raise money to meet the basic needs of our friends in KipKarin.

On September 17, 2009, Metro North Rotary is sponsoring a fundraising event where we have the privilege of drinking and tasting wines or beers at the First Avenue Wine House in Cedar Rapids. The money we raise will go toward funding of our next two projects. This was the avenue for funding the well project and I believe it will prove just as successful this time. Join us (the Spanda board of directors and staff) for an evening of wine tasting and delightful company.

Sincerely,


Juli Hardin
Spanda Inc. Board Member


Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Roy and Bridgit Brandt - Eye Care and Blogging

Roy and Bridgit Brandt are excited to go to Kenya. This will be Roy's third trip and Bridgit's first. Roy is an optician at Dr. Fitzgerald and Associates, and Bridgit is a customer service representative at an auto finance company. They are members of Noelridge Park Church in Cedar Rapids, as well as the ScinergyIA Scion Owners' Club.

Roy will be installing and calibrating an edger for the optometry lab at the Kenyan clinic. He will be training the local Kenyan staff to operate the edger, so they will be able to manufacture eyeglasses. He will also be assisting optometrist Dr. Rob Kingus in establishing a small dispensary area in the optometry clinic. This will display eyeglass frames so patients can choose their own frames, and then the lab can custom fit lenses for the frames. Roy will also be assisting Dr. Kingus and Dr. Fitzgerald with eye exams and fitting eyeglasses for patients.

Bridgit will be interviewing team members and posting updates and pictures to the blog during the trip. She will also be assisting with distributing the Duduza (comfort) dolls and photo-documenting each child with their very own doll. For more information on the Duduza dolls, please click here.

Roy has been to Kenya twice with Dr. Fitzgerald, and cannot wait to return again. The chance to serve those who would not have had access to routine eye care is an opportunity he could not ignore. Roy also enjoys using his skills to train native Kenyans to help their own people after the team is gone.

Bridgit has heard Roy's first-hand accounts of the Kenyan people and the clinic in KipKarin. She loves hearing his stories about the Kenyan people, from sharing “chai” with Mama Chiri, to the beautiful singing (in Swahili) during the church service. Bridgit is excited to immerse herself in a different culture and to appreciate the simple life of the Kenyan people.

Randy and Carol Luth...Ready To Do Anything

Randy and Carol Luth are first-time travelers to Africa. After surviving all of the travel shots, sending their first child, Jacob, off to college, and granting their daughter, Sarah, the privilege to drive, they are officially ready to go! Although not sure what to expect, they both are excited and proud to be a part of this dynamic team.


Randy is a 22 year employee of the United States Department of Labor where he works as an investigator for the Wage and Hour Division. His interested in international aid and relief work was peaked when he served as a post-Hurricane Katrina recovery volunteer. He hopes that in the future, after retirement, he may be able to combine both of these experiences as a Peace Corps volunteer.


Randy has been researching water filtration systems (read more in a future blog post) to assist the clinic and village with a sanitary water supply until the planned well can be dug. Rotary has been working with Spanda Inc. to drill a well which will serve this community.


Randy is also working to establish a supply of Ready-to-Use-Therapeutic-Food products to serve this region. This food product will be used to combat severe malnutrition faced by the Kenyan people. (Please read more about this product in the post of Help Us Name Mary’s Babies.)


Carol works as the Director for the Cedar Rapids Vision In Motion clinic. This is the second program of the nonprofit, Spanda Inc. The clinic is an outpatient occupational therapy clinic serving the vision wellness and rehabilitation needs of low vision clients, neuro-vision rehab patients, and the needs of young adults and children. The goal of this unique program is to help each patient achieve maximum success in their daily living activities----school, employment, or in their ability to remain living independently.


Carol, along with Bridgit Brandt, will be blogging and writing about the team’s African experience. She also will be compiling information for future grant applications and micro-lending opportunities to assist the villagers in sustaining their clinic’s business operations.


Dr. Rob Kingus - Eye Care Team Member


Hi! This is Dr. Rob Kingus. I have been an optometrist with Dr. Fitzgerald and Associates since August 2006. I graduated from the Illinois College of Optometry, and moved to Cedar Rapids soon after. I have enjoyed working with my patients in our office, as well as working at Vision in Motion as the primary low vision optometrist. I enjoy my job very much, and it is very fulfilling to help people improve their vision and the health of their eyes.
I am married to Heather, who is a veterinarian in Cedar Rapids. We have two young daughters, and enjoy spending time together as a family. We like to visit Clear Lake, Iowa each summer, and also travel to Duluth, Minnesota so I can participate in an in-line skating marathon each fall. Other interests of mine include watching most sports on TV, playing Nintendo Wii, spending time outside, and catching up with friends and family.
I am very excited to go to Kenya again this year. I was fortunate to go there in 2007 to help open the eye clinic, and I am happy to go back to further the work that we started. It is nice to know that I can make a difference in so many people’s lives by just doing what I’ve been trained to do.

Meet Carla McDowell-Dental Team Leader

The need for dental services at the KipKarin clinic is great. When local Cedar Rapids dentist and owner of Dental Associates of Cedar Rapids, Dr. Karen Besler, DDS, heard of Spanda Inc.’s need for dental services at the clinic, she immediately knew she wanted to help.


Dr. Besler is pleased to send one of her experienced dental assistants, Carla McDowell, on the upcoming October trip. Carla will be providing dental training to the Kenyan health care staff, assisting with patient dental screenings, and determining clinic dental equipment needs.


Carla has been a practicing dental assistant for 27 years and has worked for Dr. Besler at Dental Associates of Cedar Rapids for the past five years. She is a member of the Professional Women’s Network and of the Business Network International organization. She attends Antioch Christian Church in Marion and enjoys spending time with her fiance David, her son Charles, and her cat Monster.


Carla is very excited to share her dental knowledge with the Kenyan people and is inspired by Dr. Besler’s and Dr. Fitzgerald’s vision of bringing dental services to an area where toothbrushes and toothpaste are seen as luxury items.


Thursday, September 3, 2009

Will You Help Mary Name Her Babies?

Sitting quietly in her sun-drenched family room Mary Uthe knits….and she knits….and she knits. Why is Mary knitting so fervently? On a mission, Mary’s story offers both a simple message of love while illustrating the amazing interconnectedness we all share. It truly leaves one feeling that it does only take “a single idea, a single action to move the world.”

The Connection

Mary has been a long-time patient of local Cedar Rapids optometrist, Dr. DeAnn Fitzgerald. While in her office for a routine eye exam in the summer of 2007, Mary noticed a lone postcard at the reception desk. It described an upcoming wine tasting fundraiser event to benefit Dr. Fitzgerald’s newly founded non-profit organization, Spanda Inc. Dr. Fitzgerald would be returning to KipKarin, Kenya, to help build an eye and health care clinic. Spanda Inc. was founded to combine Dr. Fitzgerald’s passion for optometry with other health care professions to improve the lives of all regardless of personal situation throughout the world community. Mary and her husband, Jack, attended the event in which Mary describes as “awe-inspiring” to be surrounded by individuals so passionate and enthusiastic about helping the KipKarin people realize their dream of having a village-operated health care clinic.

Later that year, Mary, along with her sister-in-law, made a trip to the New England States to enjoy the fall colors. While vacationing, she visited a local yarn shop. Her eyes were immediately drawn to a basket filled with colorful, hand-knitted dolls. Mary recalls feeling overwhelmed with how cute and special the dolls looked. When she went to purchase one, however, there was no price tag. The store owner explained these were special babies called “Duduza (Comfort) Dolls”. They were created by an organization, Children In Distress Network International (CIDNI). Knitters throughout the United States and the United Kingdom were knitting these dolls with the sole purpose of giving them to African children affected by HIV/AIDS. The store owner gave Mary a web address where she could obtain the pattern to make dolls with the promise that the dolls would not be made for private profit. Upon her return to Cedar Rapids, Mary read the CIDNI story and immediately thought of Dr. Fitzgerald and Spanda Inc.

At the same time, Dr. Fitzgerald had been researching “Ready-To-Use-Therapeutic Foods” (RUTF) to stave off the effects of severe childhood malnutrition. Most concerning was the recent drought affecting the Kenyan people—resulting in the loss of grazing pastures for their cattle and goats. Over a quarter of all children living in the area served by the Kenyan clinic had become victims of malnutrition.

The RUTF is a peanut-based product enriched with vitamins and minerals. It does not require water to manufacture nor refrigeration and has a shelf life of two years. When given to a child, twice daily, for four weeks, it can restore the child to near normal weight. True to her philosophy of “wouldn’t you do whatever you could to help a child” Dr. Fitzgerald set out to discover how this food product could be introduced to this region of Kenya.

300 Babies Are Born

Within days of her return, Mary called Dr. Fitzgerald to tell her about the dolls and to see if she would like to take some with her during her next mission trip. This is where great ideas between two dynamic individuals are launched. Not only would the 300 children living in the two orphanages served by the KipKarin clinic receive a doll, but the dolls would become the major fundraising tool to introduce RUTF to the area. For an adoption fee of $35, the donor would be given the special honor of supplying a malnourished child with a month’s supply of RUTF as well as giving a child in the orphanage a doll of comfort!

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The Knitting Continues

At the time of this article, 265 dolls have been hand crafted by Mary. Using the softest of yarns, each doll is unique. All are knitted with love, given a kiss upon their completion by Mary, and blessed with this message of hope---“Somebody out there believes you are special!”

Mary is also pleased to report that her “community of knitters” has grown. As more people learn of her endeavors, she is receiving the support of fellow knitters throughout Cedar Rapids.

Would You Like To Help?

The need for RUTF will be on-going. Spanda Inc.’s long-term goal is to help over 10,000 malnourished children in this region. Presently, discussions are being held with a distributor of the product to ensure sustainability.

We need your help to realize this dream. If you would like to adopt and name one of “Mary’s Babies”, please contact us at spandainc@yahoo.com. You will receive an adoption certificate and, upon our return from Africa, a picture of the child receiving the doll you have adopted.

The $35 adoption fee will provide a Kenyan child with a month’s supply of RUTF, which will help restore the child to a near normal weight.

Through your donor efforts, Mary’s knitting, Dr. Fitzgerald’s vision, and the volunteer work of many others—it really does only take a single idea, a single action to move the world! Won’t you be a part?

Meet Michele Burnes - Medical Team Leader

Michele is excited to return for her second trip to Kenya. As a physician’s assistant practicing at the Urbana Family Medical Clinic and the Virginia Gay Hospital ER, Michele will be leading the team’s medical efforts this October.

Michele is looking forward to working with the Kipkaren clinic’s nurse, Michelle Kiprop, in developing clinic protocol for patient care and treatment. The duo will also be conducting continuing education sessions for the rest of the clinic staff.

This year Michele is very pleased to bring a portable ultrasound machine with her for the clinic’s use. Spanda Inc. is nearing its goal of raising close to $6200 to acquire this machine. The clinic staff is ecstatic to be receiving the ultrasound machine as it will aid them in providing obstetrical care and in the diagnosis and treatment of other diseases. (If you are interested in contributing towards the purchase and delivery of the ultrasound machine, please contact spandainc@yahoo.com).

Although not easily put into words, Michele relates, “You cannot help but be changed by the kindness and faith of the Kenyan people—even in the midst of extreme poverty. My circle of family, friends, and neighbors has grown through this life-changing experience.”

Team Leader Adele Booysen

Adele Booysen joins us from Taiwan, where she is currently working as a teacher. Before returning to Taiwan (where she had previously worked as a magazine editor), Adele spent three years with Empowering Lives in Kenya. "Living in a rural African village was one of the biggest joys and challenges of my life," Adele admits. Though she herself is African (she is from South Africa), Adele got to know a different side of African life by serving at ELI's orphanages. Adele's work at ELI included photojournalism as well as hosting teams. She'll be the one to make sure we get from one place to the next without any hassles, and even learn some things about the country and culture along the way...

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

The Visionary Behind Eye Care Kenya

As our team begins preparing to depart on our upcoming October Kenyan mission, it seems only fitting to introduce you to a true visionary and the founder of Spanda Inc., Dr. DeAnn Fitzgerald, OD.
Doc, as her patients, family, and friends call her, has been a practicing optometrist in the corridor community for the past 25 years. Her private eye care practice provides comprehensive eye care services to over 10,000 patients annually. Realizing her passion for optometry and health care as well as her desire to do more for our local and world communities, she founded her own nonprofit, Spanda Inc., in 2006.
Spanda Inc. is based on the notion that “it takes only a single idea, a single action to move the world”. With that thought, she has sponsored two mission trips to Kipkaren, Kenya. Through fundraising efforts and her own generosity, a health care clinic was built and local villagers were trained to operate the clinic. Doc also purchased a satellite, which has enabled her to keep in contact with the villagers. Currently, she is working with Rotary to provide fresh water to the clinic and village. She is also working with Dr. Karen Besler, a local Cedar Rapids dentist, to bring expanded dentistry services to the clinic. She is also working to establish a supply route for a therapeutic food designed to combat malnutrition. (Please stay tuned to future blogs describing all of these projects in greater detail.)
When asked why she began this mission work, Doc replied, “The moment I knew I wanted to do this---it became a process. I never thought “little ole me” could ever be able to do something like this. It was like a steamroller---other community members, businesses, and colleagues all became involved. I have been outside of my comfort zone as I embarked on this journey. But it did not matter. I realized that a piece of my destiny was to bring hope and humbly empower and inspire my Kenyan neighbors. I totally believe there is something bigger than each of us. It is amazing to be a part of all of this!”
One need not look any further than Dr. DeAnn Fitzgerald to see a leader with tremendous heart and spirit ready to “take a single idea”, create a strong team, and develop dreams that make our community and world a much better place to live.
Please join us on this journey…..