Almost done

It is 12:30, and I can barely keep my eyes open. The last few days I have been working late to get things together. Tomorrow I leave for the Cape for 6 days and I miraculously was able to get almost everything done. The first aid kits, posters, and copies have been made. Tomorrow, I will do some last minute laminating and then.... I think everything is ready. That only leaves packing, which I am dreading. Right now, my plan is to bring 3 bags, one with personal items and two for medical supplies and project supplies. Hopefully, I can fit everything and still be under the 50 pound weight limit. Already, with these new regulations, I am having to pay a total of $2oo to check the second and third bag. I may have to pay even more than that if the weight is over.

On a different note, the response to The Metrowest Daily News article has been overwhelming. Not only have I gotten so much encouraging words from friends and family, but I have also received kind words from complete strangers. Yesterday, a couple contacted me and offered to donate 1000 hotel bars of soap, which is more than I could ever ask for and will surely make a difference in the lives of the Ugandan schoolchildren that I will be working with. Today, a BC alum sent me a very nice email wishing me the best of luck on my trip. All I can say is thank you. Thank you to my family for sticking with me and helping me along the way. Thank you to my friends who have helped make this all come together by putting together the first aid kits, making the posters, copying activites, etc. And thank you to the Metrowest and BC community for everything you have done to contribute to my project. Whether it was a donation or simply words of encouragement, I cannot thank you enough.

9 days till I leave!

Wow - The Metrowest Daily News

Ok so I was not expecting to make the cover of Sunday's paper. I have to thank David Riley for writing such a wonderful article. My biggest hope from this article is that it will raise awareness in Metrowest community about health education and lack of resources in countries like Uganda. For those new blog viewers, please let me know if you have any questions via email (capecodkat@yahoo.com). For those of you who havent seen the article, I have posted a link at the bottom of my blog or you can simple click here.

This past week I was able to accomplish so much. Not only are almost all the mini first aid kits assembled, but the posters have almost all been made. I have also made lots of copies of activities that will go along with my educational program. These activities are primarily coloring sheets and word searches/puzzles. I also discovered this week how much fun it is to laminate. I laminated a bunch of handwashing posters to hang in the schools.

At this point, in terms of donations, monetary or medical supplies would be best. Monetary donations I will use to do any last minute copies, and buy any last minute supplies. Any left over money will be kept and used to help ship over more medical supplies next spring. Over this next year I am going to continue to collect supplies to be sent over.

Thanks for all the support! 11 days till I leave!

Blog Updates

This is a quick post, as I am running out the door. Today I added a few more websites to reference for handwashing education. I also posted my project report. This report includes the information and activities I am going to use for my educational program. Have a wonderful weekend!

Also, remember to check in the Metrowest Daily News tomorrow morning for an article about my project. It is suppose to be in there.

Chaos

Right now I am sitting smack dab in the middle of.... chaos, for lack of a better word. My English teacher parents would not be happy with my use of the word, but I think it is a good word to describe my living room right now. There are BandAids, gauze, gloves, antibacterial cream, alchohol wipes, and medical tape everywhere. I am in the process of putting together make-shift first aid kits (I call them make-shift because these first aid kits are basically bandaids, gauze, alcohol wipes, and gloves placed into a quart size ziplock bag). My friend, Rachel, came over this afternoon to help put them together. While we worked on that, another friend, Anna, began working on the posters for the educational portion of my project.

Tomorrow, I am laminating handwashing posters and making copies of coloring pages and crossword puzzles. If anyone has access to a copy machine or printer and would like to help me make copies, please let me know. Monetary donations for this would also be greatly appreciated.

On a different note, I had a phone interview with a reporter from the Metrowest Daily News and a photographer came over to take my picture (or pictures). If you have ever been photographed for a newspaper article, then you know it can be a bit awkward, especially when you are not used to it. Lets just say, I don't think modeling is in my future. Look for the article this weekend, either in Saturday or Sunday's paper. For those of you not in the area, I will be sure to post a link to it if it is on their website.

By the way, I sort of freaked out earlier when I scrolled down to the bottom of my blog and saw the countdown. FOURTEEN days till I leave!!! Thats crazy. It is coming quickly. I hope I can get everything done in time and by that I do not mean project wise. I have a good hand on that. It's the packing my personal belongings that I am beginning to worry about. Hopefully I have everything I need, since beginning Saturday I will be on the Cape almost full time.

First Aid Kits - Copies - Posters

Yesterday was a very productive day. First thing I did when I woke up was search the internet for coupons. I was able to find a few good ones. I, then, went shopping with my best friend, Anna, for more medical supplies and sandwich bags for the first aid kits. We also made a stop at Staples where I made color prints of handwashing posters. They turned out magnificently. Later in the afternoon, I began making the first aid kits. I organized the bandaids by size so that they can be evenly distributed in the kits later. Today, Anna and I are going to the Cape where we are going to make posters to use in my teaching. While I have no art skills, Anna does, so I am glad to have her on board for this. We are going to make a germ, a handwashing, and a first aid poster.

From now on, while I will accept any sort of donation, what I really need is money or gift cards to Staples. I need to make lots of copies of coloring pages and such, and I do not have that many monetary donations because I have to buy crayons and pay for the extra baggage checking.

Please note, however, that I will continue to collect medical supplies throughout this coming year to send over to Uganda next spring.

Helpful websites

Another purpose of this blog, I hope, is to give other people a reference for the future, should they decide to carry out a program such as this in a third world country. At the right, I am going to start to post links to websites that have been good resources for my project. Let me know if you have any questions.

Here is a quote from the first website, which happens to be a World Bank website:
"Worldwide, an estimated 83 percent of the primary school-age children attend school. In most developing countries, the sanitary and hygienic conditions at schools are often appalling, characterized by the absence of proper functioning water supply, sanitation and hand washing facilities."

This is why I am creating this program!

Blog Changes / Goal of the Week

I have made some changes to my blog. Now, instead of viewing my youtube video picture slideshow via a link, the same video is directly on my blog towards the bottom. It can also be accessed on youtube by clicking here. I have now also added a picture slideshow, which includes pictures not shown in the video (although some are repeated). Both the video and picture slideshows can be made full screen by clicking on the arrows in the right hand corner. I hope you enjoy these new features.

My goal for this week is to get all my general planning done. Whether or not I get to go to the Cape for good (aka till July 5th) starting Saturday depends on whether or not I reach this goal. By Saturday, I need to have all my information printed and ready to put on posters. I need to have chosen all the activities and made copies of anything that needs copying (or at least have one printed, so that I can make copies). And I need to make sure that I have all my personal possessions needed for this trip. It is a lot to get done, but this goal is definitely within reach (I hope!).

Happy Father's Day!

Bad News

I got some bad news today in the form of a postcard. It happened to be from Target, informing me that they cannot donate. I haven't heard from anywhere else. At this point, I am still looking for donations including staples gift cards or monetary donations. I need to make lots of copies of coloring pages and songs, buy art supplies (crayons/colored pencils), and buy poster board. Let me know if you would like to donate. Medical supplies are also still welcome.

Newspaper Article

Today, in The Weston Town Crier was an article about the involvement of Weston students in Uganda. While I am not, nor was ever a Weston student, I am in the article because my mom is a teacher in Weston. There is an entire section of the article dedicated to me and my project. The article was written by Elizabeth Ross, the executive director of The Kasiisi Project.
Please feel free to check it out - link in "Check These Out" section of my blog.

Also, keep your eyes open for a short article in the Metrowest Daily News. I have been told by Boston College, who contacted them, that there is a possibility of an article in there as well. I will be sure to let everyone know if there is.

On a different note, I have now picked up both the supplies from the elementary school and the high school. The amount of supplies I have collected only continues to grow, which is great. It also means I have less room to move in my already small bedroom :)

One of the donations that I received from a student at the high school is something called HandClens Foaming Sanitizer & Lotion. Honestly, this stuff looks amazing. It's non-flammable (which is definitely not the case with normal hand sanitizer). It's non-toxic and it is gentle on skin. It claims it kills 99.99% of germs and it provides 3X as many pumps as alcohol gels. I am thinking I may go out and buy more of this before I go for my project. Or if people see it at the store and would like to donate it, please do! (You can buy it at Big Lots! This package which cost $5 includes 3 8oz bottles and 2 1.7oz blottles. Great deal!)

Donations Still Welcome

For those new blog viewers, welcome to my blog. I would like to reiterate that I am still looking for donations. See list at right of page for the list of supplies I am in need of. I am off to Placentino to pick up some supplies today. Thanks Mme Gerson. And thank you to all who have donated and who would like to donate.

Waiting and Planning

Other than Target, who I will be putting a call into in a few moments, I have dropped off letters at Fiske's, BJ's Club, Staples, and CVS and mailed letters out to Johnson & Johnson and Procter & Gamble, and now all I can do is wait. And hope that at least one place calls me with some good news. It would really help my project if I could get supplies from at least one of these places.

In terms of my report and planning, I got a lot done the other day in terms of picking and choosing the information that I plan on teaching the children. Now for today, besides getting a bit more information on general first aid (cleaning, covering, and taking care of cuts and scrapes), I need to begin choosing activities to do with the students. I found some good coloring sheets, songs, and "experiments"that I could use. Now I need to pick and choose activities.

My Health Education Project Report

A little cold this week, which led to a lot of time in bed, set me back a bit, but today I was finally able to return to planning. A few weeks ago, I found a bunch of wonderful websites that were going to serve as guides for me. Today, I officially began to type up my Health Education Project report. Here is the general format:

Learning Objectives
Germs
- Information
- Activities
Handwashing
- Information
- Activities
Basic First Aid
- Information
- Activities
Conclusion: Importance of General Hygiene

Although these are subject to change, here are the learning objectives that I have settled upon:
- Identify substances that are harmful to the body (i.e. germs)
- Develop a clear understanding of germs
- Identify some of the illnesses and diseases that bad germs can cause
- Describe how germs are transmitted and how it relates to personal hygiene
- Understand the importance of handwashing and how it can prevent people from becoming sick (i.e. understand that proper handwashing removes bad germs from hands and prevents the spread of illness and disease)
- Learn the proper handwashing process
- Acquire a basic understanding of first aid
- Practice appropriate personal hygiene

As of now, the following website has been a great help, not only in creating the objectives, but also in the gathering of the information regarding germs and handwashing:
http://web.archive.org/web/20040923111827/http://www.wdghu.org/topics/school_health/downwithgerms.pdf

Failure nor Success

Ok. So today was neither a failure nor a success. I made it to BJ's, CVS, and Fiske's. None of the managars or owners were present, so I left my letter and now I have to wait and see whether or not anyone replies. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Thanks yous

First off, I would like to thank a number of people for their efforts to help me in collecting supplies and in fundraising. When I sent out an email at the start of the week, I was only trying to update some teachers and friends about my summer plans. The response I got was overwhelming. At the middle school, my sixth grade science teacher asked if the Student Government could use my project for their "Beyond Holliston" fund drive effort for the 2009-2010 school year. Then, up at the high school, a number of teachers took it into their hands to start a drive to collect supplies. When I opened my email on Tuesday, my inbox was filled with emails from teachers wanting to help. I cannot thank you all enough. It really means a lot to me that even though I am no longer a student in the Holliston schools and even though there is a lot of craziness with the school year coming to an end, teachers still found the time and care enough to help me out. So, many thanks to all those who have supported me over the years and continue to support me as I prepare to travel half way around the world to a country that is in desperate need of our help.

On a different note, I am getting ready to head out to places like Target, BJ's, Staples etc in search of donations. Hopefully, this will not be a total failure. I'll post later on how it goes.

My General Plan

Here is my general plan as of now for my program:

First off, I plan on making small first aid kits with some of the supplies to give to each teacher in each of the classrooms. The same goes for the hand sanitizer. I still need a plan for the bars of soap. I need to work a system for those. Water is scarce so putting soap in the bathrooms wouldnt be productive if there is no water. I think I may give the soap to the headmasters/mistresses and they can bring it out on the days where water is available.

In terms of specifics for my program, my plan right now is do activities with the students to get them involved and interested in the material at hand. I have found some nice handwashing and germs coloring sheets online that the kids can color. This will be best for the younger grade levels, where they have not learned english yet. For the older children, I have a cute song that I found that I plan on teaching the kids. I know from last summer that they love music so this should be a great way to engage them and get them to remember the importance of handwashing.

From here, I need to work on figuring out alternative handwashing methods because unfortunately the bars of soap and hand sanitizer will not last forever. I was told about a method in which ash is used, but I need to look into this. Once again, if anyone knows of any alternatives, please let me know.

I would also like to take this moment to thank my teachers who have come forward offering to collect supplies and run fundraisers. I really appreciate it. Teachers always go above and beyond and I cannot thank you enough!

Germ Suggestions

I was able to find plenty of materials online to use for the handwashing portion of my program, but I need a good resource to educate the children about germs. I was thinking a children's book might be helpful. I found what appears to be a good book online called Germs! Germs! Germs! It is part of the Hello Reader Science Series. If you have read it, let me know what you think of it. Also, does anyone else have any suggestions? Thanks.

My First Grade Teacher

I forgot to mention earlier about a phone call I received after my fundraising session at Coffee Haven. Wednesday afternoon I received a phone call from a number I did not recognized. When I answered, I was pleasantly surprised to find it was my first grade teacher, Mme Gerson, calling. She had heard about my project through another teacher at Placentino who happened to pick up one of my flyers at my table in front of Coffee Haven. We had a wonderful discussion about Uganda. It turns out one of her daughters is moving there in the fall. I really appreciated the time she took out of her day to call me.

So here is a shout out to Mme Gerson, a teacher who even after 12 years has not forgotten me :)

Donations

I have not gotten much done in the last few days and I did not sit outside Coffee Haven yesterday. Therefore, in terms of fundraising, I am at the same place I was. Monetary donations, on top of supplies donations, are always welcome.

Tomorrow, I am sending out a letter to Johnson & Johnson, as well as Procter & Gamble, asking for donations of certain supplies, depending on what their company manufactures. Johnson & Johnson manufactures Purell, Band-Aid, and Neosporin, while Procter & Gamble manufactures a bunch of soaps, including Ivory and Olay. Also, this week I plan on making a trip to Target, BJs, and CVS, asking for donations. If anyone has any connections at any of these places, please let me know. I can use all the help I can get. I am also going to go to Staples, and see if they would be willing to let me use their copy machine free of charge for a certain amount of documents.

This is another way people could donate, depending on what Staples says. If anyone would allow me to use their printer to print a certain amount of documents that would be great.

Thanks for supporting me and helping me along the way.

First Post!!!

I have spent the last two hours trying desperately to get this blog together and ready so I can move on and continue developing my health education project. However, I am not nearly as far along as I wish to be on both this blog and the planning process. Hopefully, with some time tonight, I will be able to accomplish a lot of what needs to get done.

I had another successful day today in regards to fundraising. I made $96 on top of the $286 I made with my bake sale and yard sale. I might go sit outside Coffee Haven again on Saturday morning if the weather is nice. That seemed to work well today.

Till later.