Update from Meg Feigal

Dear Friends,

Here are excerpts from one of the travelers, Meg Feigal

Hi Ken!

We made it...and all in all, I am loving it!

Today I am writing this from internet cafe on campus.... Plenty of computers to use, but a very slow connection.

The Day of Grace seems to be going well. People are grateful and appreciative.

Meg Feigal

I am so excited for you to join us! It is fun to get to know all of the people here....  Jake and I are trying to just go with the flow.

One of the things we noticed in the day of grace assessments is the need for reading glasses. An overwhelming majority of the pastors would benefit greatly from them (I helped with visual acuity testing, and estimate was at least 50% of the Pastors said they have a hard time reading).

I hope all is well, and we will see you soon!

-Meg

I bet we can get some readers for our Pastors.

Ken

No news is good news, I suppose.

Well, both waves are now at Ilula District Hospital (IDH).  Presumably, no phone calls imply that all is well.

I am occupying my time doing USAID modules at: http://www.globalhealthlearning.org/tracker.cfm .

I have not reached the novice level, but I will!

If you hear from your loved ones, don't hesitate to report the non-mushy stuff here!

Second Wave at MSP

Randy, Kari, Angela, Jill, Laura B.,Carl, Ann, Phil, Meg and Jake

Second wave sent!

I met most of the group at MSP Delta's Group check-in desk.  See the photo.  Serena Thompson and John Kvasnicka took a slightly earlier flight and Serena's boyfriend Jason heard from her that they were safely aboard.  Jen Tessmer-Tuck flew from Rochester, so I still have not met her in person.

Assuming all went well in Amsterdam, the whole second wave should now be lifting off from Kilimanjaro airport or in the air on the way to Dar.  It is 9:07 PM in Dar and they should land around 10:30 PM to overnight at the hostel run by the Free Pentecostal Church of Tanzania.  In the morning, while here most of us are still fast asleep, they will be heading to Ilula to join the first wave folks.


I may post some more detailed information about the Ilula Nutrition Project.  For now, I am happy to report that the connections all seem to have occurred so we will have Plumpy'Nut available to use for the hospitalized children. You may know that 38% of children in Tanzania are undernourished.  We can't do anything about that, but we can address the needs at Ilula District Hospital.

Since I am here and they are there, please let me know what you hear from your loved ones on this trip!

Arrivals and Update

All is well with the first half of the group.  Both Lamont's and Gary's cell phones work and the numbers I have posted are correct.  (I just tried them both out.)

Both Lamont and Gary extend their greetings from Iringa and Ilula.

Gary reports they are already into life at Ilula.  Gary and Dan did a C-section.  Laura M. assisted with a C-section and did a delivery.  The second wave leaves tomorrow and I wait jealously for my own time.

Here is departure information from Randy if anyone is available to see the group off:

For those departing Jan 12th group: let's all try to meet at Delta's group ticketing area on the lower level (below where you get taxis from) at 1 pm on Thursday to check in. -Randy

Updated Emergency Contact Numbers

I got this message from Lamont abut the numbers and have adjusted them accordingly!

Friends,

In checking my contact list, I discovered an error in the information I gave you regarding my number in Tz. When calling that number from the U.S you need to "drop" the "0" at the beginning of the third set of numbers. So the number should read: 011-255-782-048-368.

Lamont

I will try them out in the next day or so.

Pre-Trip Notes

Dear Friends,

The Ilula Medical Group is headed off to Tanzania in two waves and a splash. 

Over the weekend, Gary Moody will be heading a group including himself, Will and Jan Carlson, Dan and daughter Jenna Johnson, Becky and Lamont Koerner, Laura Melcher and Will Amundson and Jen Tessmer-Tuck, as well as Cindy Wilkie and Madeline Aagard.

The second wave includes Randy, Kari and Angela Hurley, Laura Brown, Jake and Meg Feigal, Beth and Tom Hanson, Anne Joseph and Phil McGlave, John Kvasnicka, Carl Sherman, Jill Strykowski, Serena Thompson and Jim and Betty Wolf.

I am the splash, leaving MSP Jan 26, arriving on the plane the remaining faculty will be leaving in on Jan 27.  The students and I will be leaving Tanzania about February 16.  With so many coming and going, it is hard for me to keep everything straight.