Trip #4 Begins

The Spanda team is packed and ready to embark on the 4th trip to the Kenya health care clinic. The flight takes off early tomorrow morning from Cedar Rapids and will arrive in Africa 20-22 hours later.

As well as the hand-knitted dolls mentioned before, the team will be bringing with them supplies to help the dental clinic expand, an industrial chlorinator for the clinic well, ideas for irrigation and hearts ready to help.

Check back often while the team is gone to learn progress and updates as Dr. DeAnn Fitzgerald blogs about their experiences.

Kenya 2011: Embarking on Trip Number 4

Spanda Inc. is excited to embark on its fourth trip to Kipkaren, Kenya. The team will leave Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on January 12th and will return January 26th.
The 2011 team includes: Mark and Lauren Cannon; Jim and Joan Chalupsky; Sharon Dieter, Carolyn Hamilton; Jennifer Pershing; and Dr. DeAnn Fitzgerald.

This year’s team will focus on the following goals:
· Installation of an industrial chlorinator for use at the clinic well
· Soil testing and analysis for a possible passion fruit farm
· Irrigation strategies and methods for crop production
· And, 500 dolls hand-knitted by Cedar Rapids, Iowa, volunteers Mary Uthe and Lorie Meyer will be distributed to the village children.

“This is an exciting time for all of us at Spanda Inc. It will be gratifying to see the wells in operation as well as the new dental chair being used at the clinic! A huge thank you to everyone supporting Spanda with your time, money and positive thoughts as we embark on this awesome journey," said Spanda Inc. founder, DeAnn Fitzgerald.

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.

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!

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?