Today's Update

Greetings to our friends at home from the Mercy Care Center Clinic 3 Musketeers, fueled by wonderful help from our EC Glass, North Carolina and Australian assistants, Katherine, Hailey, William, Jeanette, Gina, Will, Kathleen, Sarah, Celia and Carla; and in the pharmacy Yasmine, Kevin and Laura. We have been moved and warmed by the nearly 300 children we have seen in our first three busy mornings of checkups and well- checks, and are amazed by the difference the Mercy Care Center makes in the day to day lives of the children of the Mathare Valley. Special thanks to our guardian angels, Carole and Wayne Brown, and to Julie’s uncles, Father Peter who made a visit to join us from Zambia. We are humbled to be part of this! Kappa Meadows, Karin Truitte, Terry Brennan. PS-- Among our patients have been several Clintons and Kennedys, one Jefferson, a TonyBlair, 2 Elvises and a Barack (certainly more to follow in the future!!)

On other fronts at Mercy Care, we are reading and writing poetry, and memoirs, folding paper cranes, making and serving 800 PB&J’s, taking photos and loving every minute!!!

Love to all!

Internet still proves to be a challenge. But today we visited the Giraffe Reserve and Karen Blixen's house followed by a great Indian meal after the time at MCC, we hope to up load some pictures soon.

First Day at the School

Today, Monday, 6/28/10, we had our first full day at the school. The kids all greeted us with clapping and singing. And then performed for about an hour, singing, dancing, drumming, etc. The doctors/nurses saw about 150 kids (wow!) most of whom were pretty healthy, but lots of ring worm and some skin/respiratory problems but few serious illnesses. Laura, Karen, Will (C.), Jeanette, Katherine and Hailey were working there. All the kids were weighed, measured, lots of ears cleaned, and they all got a piece of candy for their good behavior!
We gave out all 700 goodie bags and need to make a few more tonight. We also pumped up about 1/2 the soccer balls and we shall distribute tomorrow. The kids were very excited about soccer jerseys and cleats, and the boys team will play an important game at the end of the week with their new stuff. Tonight we have dinner with all the teachers, and tomorrow head back to the school to bring books, and more school supplies.
We are all in awe of the spirit of the center and being plugged into it. Beauty & joy are hard to come by in the Mathare Valley, but they are alive and well at the Mercy Care Centre.
The internet is hard to find, and we will try to update again tomorrow.

Nairobi

We all made it safely without any trouble - but no internet access yet!
We got all 47 suitcases through customs and to the school.
Today we had a fabulous day touring Nairobi. We visited the Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage and the Masi market, then had dinner at an Ethiopian restaurant which was great.
The weather is wonderful - 70's and breezy during the day and 60's at night.
Tomorrow we are headed for our first day at the school.

On the Plane!!

We are finally all seated on the plane after many adventures checking in. We managed to check six extra suitcases at no charge and we think they let us through just to get rid of us. We had one small miracle performed by St. Anthony who located a passport hiding between the pages of Tracy Morgan's autobiography. All is well!

Our fearless crew

TRAVELERS
1. Patricia Worsham
2. Lisa Cresson
3. William Cresson
4 Laura Nuckles
5. Terry Brennan
6 Will Ruehle
7 Kathleen Lifsey
8 Julie Doyle
9 Sarah Doyle
10 Kevin Truitte
11 Karin Truitte
12 Yasmine Di Giulio
13 Jeannette Traver
14 Hailey Floyd
15 Gina Falcone
16 Katherine Agnew
17 Meg Kenny
18. . Miriam Sauls
19. Celia Poole
20. Cullen Sessoms
21 Kappa Meadows

From Alice by way of Betsy

My favorite quote from Alice in Wonderland reads,
“There is no use trying,” said Alice; “one can’t believe impossible things.”
“ I dare say you haven’t had much practice,” said the Queen. “When I was your age, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”—Lewis Carroll
I have discovered that the Queen is correct. Since I began working with Mercy Care School , many impossible things are happening.
As our 21 travelers embark today on their great adventure, they will be keeping us posted on the “impossible things” that continue to happen in one of the worst slums on the planet. Mathare Valley means “Valley of Hopelessness.” When they look into the eyes of our children, they will see that a place of great hope has been created.

From Yasmine Di Giulio

I'm currently a rising second-year student at the University of Virginia. I'm interested in international/global studies, but have no declared major. I've been working with Mercy Care with Ms. Worsham for about two years while at E. C. Glass and am very excited to finally get to go and meet the kids! In my spare time, I like to read, play tennis, or hang out with my friends.

From Terry Brennan

This is Terry Brennan--I'm going on the ECGlass Mercy Care trip, and I'm thrilled to be part of it. I'm a pediatrician, and will be working with Kappa Meadows, a dermatologist, seeing the children at the MCC for Checkups, and sick visits. We're both looking forward to doing whatever Patrick, the Headmaster, and Catherine, (I think she is the nurse at MCC) feel would be most helpful in seeing to the children's
health. We're also going to try to do some preventive health measures if possible, like checking to see what immunizations the children have had, and updating those who have not been adequately immunized against the more common diseases like measles, polio, tetanus, etc. Where also bringing some mosquito netting material for the secondary school sewing class for them to try to device a simple net that would work in the homes the children live in. I have 4 grown boys, all of whom had Patty as their AP English teacher, and they all adore her! Kappa has 3 children, the oldest of whom is a year away from HS. We're excited!

From Kappa Meadows

Hi, I'm Kappa Meadows and am very thrilled to be a part of the ECG Mercy Care trip. I learned about the Mercy Care School (and ECG affiliation) from Julie and Sarah Doyle and met Patty Worsham and Betsy Garrard to learn more. I am a dermatologist and will be working in the clinic seeing children with Terry Brennan (pediatrician), Karin Truitte (nurse) and Kevin Truitte (EMT) and others. Cannot wait!
I'm married to Jay Meadows and we have 3 children in Lynchburg City Schools (one will be at ECG in 2 years)! My husband and I are both from Georgia and spent 8 years in Salt Lake City, Utah before moving to Virginia.

What Happens When

SCHEDULE FOR TRIP TO KENYA

June 24—Thursday
Travel to Dulles International Airport to Dulles Airport Marriott

June 25—Friday
Flight is at 10:05 AM. Arrive at airport for check-in at 7 AM.

June 26-Saturday
Arrive at Nairobi International Airport at 12 NOON
You will be picked up by 3 vans and Headmaster Patrick Lumumba.
Arrive at guest house and REST , orientation and dinner.

June 27—Sunday
Vans will pick up at 10 AM for trip to Elephant Orphanage.
Shopping mall for lunch, grocery store and money changing.
Maasai Market for shopping and amazing bargains.
Dinner: Ethiopian Restaurant

June 28—Monday
Vans pick up at 6:30 AM to go to Mercy Care
Vans pick up at 1 PM to return to St. Benedicts
Vans pick up at 5:30 for Dinner Honoring Teachers

June 29—Tuesday
Vans pick up at 6:30 AM to go to Mercy Care
Vans pick up at 1 PM

Visit to National Museum and Snake Preserve (now that’s what I call fun!)
Back to St. Benedicts for rest and dinner and meeting

June 30—Wednesday
Vans pick up at 6:30 AM to go to Mercy Care
Vans pick up at 1 PM
Trip to Giraffe Orphanage and Karen Blixen Museum (You must watch Out of Africa movie before you go INTO AFRICA) Karen wrote the book about her life. This is required watching. If you do not watch it, we will leave you in ADDIS ABBA. And it won’t be pretty!)
Dinner: at Indian restaurant—will be delicious!

July 1—Thursday
Vans pick up at 6:30 AM to go to Mercy Care
Vans pick up at 1 PM
Lunch out and then to Ngong Hills to hike.
Dinner at St. Benedicts. Meeting.

July 2—Friday
Vans pick up at 6:30 AM to go to Mercy Care
Vans pick up at 1 PM to return to St. Benedicts
This is field day at Mercy Care in afternoon. Some may want to stay and have van pick them up at 5.
Pick up at 6 PM for dinner at Carnivore Restaurant or Ethiopian Restaurant (your choice)

July 3—Saturday (last day at Mercy Care)
Vans pick up at 6:30 AM to go to Mercy Care
Vans pick up at 1 PM
Lunch at restaurant at animal orphanage
Tour of animal orphanage
Eat at St. Benedicts for dinner

July 4 -Sunday
http://www.kilimacamp.com/
6:30 depart for SAFARI!
July 5 -- Monday – SAFARI
July 6—Tuesday—SAFARI

July 7 Wednesday
Morning safari ride and then back to Nairobi.
6 PM Norfolk Restaurant

July 8 --Thursday
Flight Home
Depart St. Benedicts 3:30,
Flight departs at 6:15 PM

July 9 Friday
Arrive at Dulles at 8:00 AM
Welcome Home!

Ready to roll!

Our big adventure begins tomorrow as we leave Glass at 4 to start our journey to Kenya. We are taking 5 vehicles packed with 36 suitcases, 17 carry-ons and intrepid travelers. Just this morning we received over 50 soccer jerseys and lots of soccer shorts as a donation from LUS. In addition, we have over 70 soccer balls ready to be inflated when we arrive.

Before school finished in June, the Mercy Care Council at Glass packed 750 goodie bags for the students. Each one contains soap and wash cloth, tooth paste and tooth brush (donated by Dental Careers classes), pencils, erasers, pencil sharpeners, book marks and a variety of other little treats. We have created a little book for each child starting with coloring books for the baby school to books for memoir writing for the secondary school. One of our goals is to give each child a personal photograph as a part of "My Book about Me." We have many pounds of other supplies that you will be hearing about as our adventure unfolds.

I am Patty Worsham, an English teacher at E.C. Glass, and a board member of the Mercy Care Foundation. I traveled to the Mercy Care Centre with Wayne and Carrol Brown in 2008 and I am so looking forward to seeing them, Patrick and all my MCC buddies in a few short days.
I am married with two grown sons and two adorable grandsons. in I am in awe of all the talented people coming to MCC this summer and the friends and families who have supported us.

I will sign off with my favorite motto: "Carpe Diem."

A Brief History of the Mercy Care Centre

Please visit our website for blogs from other summer trips and Patrick's blog with up to date news.

If you want some basic history--here's the story of how it all started.


Mercy Care Centre Foundation
Supporting a Non-denominational Christian School in the Heart of the Slums of Kenya

Brief History

1991
Dorna Amimo, wife of the Rev. Gilbert Amimo, of Nairobi, Kenya, visited her eldest son, Jeremiah, who was a junior at Liberty U. Dorna stayed for a week with Peg Cox. Pat Fitzgibbons, Peg’s upstairs neighbor, also spent time getting to know Dorna and Jeremiah. Dorna was invited to speak at Grace Episcopal Church, Lynchburg, and was well received. One of several friends introduced to Dorna was Carroll Brown, a physical therapist who worked with Pat, an occupational therapist at LAUREL Regional School. Carroll and her husband, Wayne, had spent 7 years in Kenya and Tanzania as Baptist missionaries. They were fond of Africans and were fluent in Swahili. Pat, her parents, Mary Alice and Dave Fitzgibbons, and the Browns did many things for Jeremiah in the following years. Pat, Peg, and the Browns kept in touch with Dorna by mail.

1995
Dorna and her husband, Gilbert, asked to visit in Lynchburg again in order to see their son, Jeremiah, who was now living in Waynesboro, VA. As a result, many more people in the Lynchburg area got to know and love the Amimos. The couple stayed for 5 weeks with Pat Fitzgibbons, and met many of her family members and friends. Dorna and Gilbert attended Holy Spirit prayer group meetings each week at St. Thomas More Catholic Church. Fran and Jim Dorman, leaders of that group, became friends with the Amimos and began keeping in touch with them afterwards. The Browns had Dorna and Gilbert over for meals and introduced them to many of their friends. They also helped Pat in transporting the Amimos to visit Jeremiah during their stay.

Gilbert had been the pastor of the largest Episcopal parish in Nairobi at the time, and was also a popular speaker all over Kenya. He had recently been allowed by his bishop to give up his pastorate to give talks and lead missions in various Episcopal churches around the country. He was assigned at that time to a parish that had no church buildings, the second largest slum in Nairobi, Mathare Valley, one of the poorest spots on the continent. Dorna and Gilbert anguished how to help their new parishioners, who often were without food, who lived in squalid conditions, but were such good people. The Amimos prayed for guidance. They decided they would do what they could…by simply sharing food with a few families and providing simple classes to young children and their mothers. This was the beginning of what would soon become Mercy Care School.

1996
The Browns, who had visited Mathare Valley in earlier years, knew how desperate the living conditions were in this slum. While on a trip to Eastern Africa, they visited with Dorna and Gilbert, and saw their little school. They became motivated to do more to help. Mr. Fitzgibbons died that year and his family requested all donations be given to the school. Other friends sent money periodically to support the struggling school.

1997
Dorna died of a serious digestive ailment. Her dying words to Gilbert were to please keep the school running.

1998
Gilbert visited for a month, staying with the Browns, the Dormans, and Pat Fitzgibbons. He spoke at the Brown’s church, Peakland Baptist Church, who were very supportive of the school from that point on. Gilbert continued attending Holy Spirit prayer group at St. Thomas More Catholic Church, spoke at St. John’s Episcopal Church, Bedford, VA, and gave talks to a number of other churches and groups. The Brown’s friends, John and Joy Johnson, Roanoke, VA, suggested Carroll and Wayne form a non-profit organization, so that donations could become tax deductible. They did so, and the Mercy Care Centre Foundation was formed. A small number of board members met every other month and began organizing donor lists, sending out newsletter, making up pamphlets, and organizing an annual dinner at Peakland Baptist Church. Each summer, the Browns began taking groups of people from the Lynchburg area to Kenya to see the school. Twenty one people visited the school this last summer, 2007, led again by Carroll and Wayne Brown.

2008
When MCC school began, there were about 20 preschoolers. Now there are 500 students from toddler age through sophomore year of the (new) secondary school. Over 100 of them are orphans, living with relatives. There are 400 donors who receive the MCCF newsletter quarterly, nearly 100 of whom have been to visit the school in person. The MCCF board is made up of 12 dedicated men and women, representing various denominations and service groups. Last year’s African dinner, held at First Presbyterian church, had an attendance of 300 people and raised nearly $10,000. Many schools in the Lynchburg area have recently begun to partner with the MCC, including T. C. Miller Elementary, Thomas Jefferson Elementary, and E. C. Glass High School, who has adopted the MCC as a sister school and created a new club: The Mercy Care Council.
Volunteers from Centra Health have contributed generously. Recently, the local Rotary Club supported the efforts to get matching grants for $50,000 to help meet many needs of the elementary and secondary school.

The MCC Foundation has done much to organize support for the feeding, educating, and spiritual underpinning of these students, giving them hope and a future. With the assistance of so many generous people in Central Virginia, the Kenyan school has become an award winner in many regional and national drama, choir, and dance competitions. Nearly all of the students completing 8th grade have achieved high scores in National exams, despite their limited resources. The MCC Vocational School that started a number of years ago, has won a Presidential award for its excellent sewing school. Patrick Lumumba, Headmaster, is visited for the first time, Oct. 6 to 29, 2008, and the African dinner was held this year at E. C. Glass H. S., Oct. 11, 2008. As the secondary school has continued to grow the school reached an enrollment of 600.

2009
The big news of 2009 has been the amazing growth at the school as a result of the continued additional of secondary classes and the grant from Rotary International made through a partnership between the Rotary in Lynchburg and in Nairobi. Several new class rooms have been created, A computer lab is up and running as well as several science labs needed for the students to meet the high standards required for a secondary diploma in Kenya. Meanwhile the school has had may distinguished visitor—including the Governor of the Rotary for a large part of east Africa. The students have continued to win many awards in music, drama, academics. Take a look at Patrick’s webpage for just a sampling of the beautiful and accomplished students.
The African dinner had another amazing turn out and the with silent auction, teacher and child sponsorship, and many generous donations, the dinner raised over $20.000. The secondary school is now complete ans students enrollment has reached 750 student in grades pre-K through 12.

2010
This spring the ECG Mercy Care Council partnered with the National Honor and raised $2500 at a yard sale to help support the Foundation’s work at the school. Carroll and Wayne Brown are currently in Africa with Bob & Joan Sydnor of Lynchburg and a group from New Bern Baptist Church in North Carolina. Our ECG group is soon to follow and has been able to collect and purchase over 2000 lbs. of supplies to take with us on June 25th. Twenty-one adults and young people associated with ECG and MCC will spend two weeks in Africa this summer and experience first hand the miracle that is The Mercy Care Centre. Please check in our adventures as our journey unfolds.