Wow, another month down and 3 months to go, and with Christmas coming during that time, we just know the time will f-l-y by.
The lasagna fundraiser was successful, and we raised $2,300.00 for the team! That's a lot of lasagna! And I only ate two pieces, so all that money did NOT come from me!
Besides working the fundraiser, we also got to meet and get to know the team. There are 13 of us in total. The youngest member is in his early 20's and the eldest member is in her late 70's! We also have someone on our team who is visually impaired, so we are definitely a diverse group!
In addition to raising funds for the team, our fearless leader Debbie also sold several paper bead necklaces, with the funds going directly to the "Baby Justine" and "Home of Hope" funds.
Debbie was kind enough to provide the following information about both causes:
'"Baby
Justine" is an incredible woman - she is in her late forties, has 7 children of
her own, and is married to a Christian pastor. Baby Justine got her nickname because she takes unwanted and orphaned
children and finds homes for them. Many of the young Ugandan people who
assist us while we are in Jinja were brought up in orphanages and were taught
Sunday school by Baby Justine.
Baby Justine also opened a school for children that cannot go to public schools
because they can't afford the required school uniform. In her spare time
(hard to imagine her having any) she has taught groups of women all over Uganda how
to make the paper beads.
"Home
of Hope" was started by the director, Edith in 2007. Edith had a
son, Derrick, with cerebral palsy. Home of Hope provides 24 hour care to
18 children with a range of disabilities including autism, hydrocephalus,
cerebral palsy and epilepsy. In Uganda, children (and their families) are
often stigmatized and many of the children at "Home of Hope" have
been abandoned by their parents.'
All of the funds from these necklace sales go in a 50/50 split to these two causes. Both very worthy, as I'm sure you will agree.
The necklaces are made of paper beads, which are beads made from long strips of magazine paper, and then shellacked and strung on the necklace string. The beads are incredibly beautiful, and I have had the pleasure of owning a string for a couple of years now. I will be selling these beautiful beads, along with some purses and clutches that are also adorned with these beads, at our New Year's Eve Party.
Speaking of our New Year's Eve Party, this thing is going to be a blast! We're hosting it at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Port Hope. The night will be complete with music, a small silent auction, a midnight buffet, a cash bar, and there will even be an appearance of the 'Jewellery House'...if you haven't seen the Jewellery House in action, you are in for a treat! I won't explain it all here, but in short: we will be selling keys for a chance to open the door and get the prize inside. It won't be jewellery this year, but it will be something awesome, and you don't want to miss this!! I'm kind of excited about that alone!
The event will only be open to 75 people, so you'll want to let us know if you are planning to come. Tickets are $30.00 each, or 2 for $50.00.
In the meantime, we are due to get our vaccinations this month. There are a few we need to get, such as Hepatitis A and B, Typhoid, Yellow Fever, Polio, plus some anti-Malaria pills that we'll be taking before, during and after our trip. Good thing I got over my fear of needles years ago...otherwise, I'd be in trouble!
We have also received the details of our flight information. We'll be leaving on January 31st and arriving on February 1st, Ugandan time. The travel time is 20 hours in total, just to get there (it's 22 hours to get home!) So it'll be a lo-o-o-ng way to go. Still, I'm excited, and I'm hoping they will serve Ted a glass of liquor up in the air, because I think he's gonna need it! :)
ALSO - those that know me, know that I'm a movie fan, and they gave us a list of movies to watch to get prepared for our trip! I haven't found them yet, but I'm keeping my eyes open for "War/Dance" from 2007 and "The Last King of Scotland" from 2006. If you know where I can pick these up, please let me know! I'm UBER-excited to watch them before we go!
Only 87 days to go...
I gues that's it for today, so let's finish with Mweraba! (Goodbye!) Two words down...and so many more to go...LOL
