Preparation: Donations

     This is the body of the letter I sent to selected friends and family to update them on my trip this semester, as well as to explain my need for financial help. The response has been overwhelming and very humbling. I am currently in the process of writing "thank you" letter, but "thank you" does not seem to cut it. I have been raised to write letters showing my appreciation for birthday and Christmas presents, or a friend's family letting me stay at their house. On your birthday you anticipate a present...Christmas gifts are a societal expectation. The replies I received have been so gracious in their support and beyond normal vitality that I only hope my attempts at conveying my gratitude are realized by those to whom I am writing.

    My parents are crazy. There…it’s out. No sugar-coating it; blunt and to the point. There are pictures of me as a baby, chubby body and big bald head, face-to-face under water with my mother. I was swimming before I could walk, competing in triathlons before 2nd grade, rolling a whitewater kayak at 8, backpacking at 11, rock climbing at 13, and spending every available opportunity since in the woods, on a cliff, in a river, under the ocean, or traveling somewhere intriguing. I’ve slept on couches, in hammocks, in cars, in class, in caves, in tents, on rocks, under rocks, in rocks, and between rocks. The love for traveling instilled in me by my parents as a child still drives my decisions and lifestyle now in college.  
    I am a senior at Auburn University majoring in Bio-Medical Sciences and minoring in Spanish with plans for medical school. I am chasing a niche medical field known as expedition medicine, a combination of emergency medicine and remote locations with adverse conditions. Paving the course for me with their careers and literature are doctors such as Dr. Christopher Van Tildenburg and Dr. Ken Kamler who have carved an unconventional profession out of the medical landscape.
    Several months ago, I began planning to take a NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School) mountaineering course in the Himalayas for the fall semester. This quickly expanded into taking the entire semester off, first to take the course, and then to work in medical clinics in India and Uganda. I will leave the U.S. on August 30th and begin my NOLS course on September 1st. Forty days will be spent in the Himalayas receiving intense instruction for all skills needed to lead a high altitude international expedition, culminating in a student-led attempt to gain an altitude of 18,300 ft on the Dhanu Dhura pass. After the completion of this course, I will spend a week traveling by train en route to Kolkata, India.   
    In Kolkata, I will volunteer with Mother Teresa’s Missions of Charity for approximately three weeks. Missions of Charity was started in 1950 by Mother Teresa to care for, in her words, “the hungry, the naked, the homeless, the crippled, the blind, the lepers, all those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared for throughout society; people that have become a burden to the society and are shunned by everyone.” More than just the well-known Home for the Dying and Children's Home of the Immaculate Heart in Kolkata, Missions of Charity consists of orphanages, AIDS and leprosy outreach centers, hospice care, and health clinics spanning the globe. 
    In Uganda, after a few plane flights and a bus ride, I will work briefly with Children of Grace orphanage in Jinja. Located on Lake Victoria at the mouth of the Nile, Children of Grace is a home for children orphaned by AIDS. Though not directly health related, I will still be able to help and gain experience running sports camps.    
    A short trip up the road in Kyabirwa Village is Soft Power Health, a malaria prevention and primary care clinic also located on the banks of the Nile. Soft Power Health (SPH) was started in 2002 by Dr. Jessie Stone, a professional whitewater kayaker and graduate of NYU. From their base location in Kyabirwa, SPH travels throughout the area teaching preventative measures against malaria and HIV, as well as selling and helping to assemble mosquito nets to be used over beds. SPH is a small and, as many clinics in Africa typically are, underfunded organization. Though unable to give the nets away for free, they subsidize the cost to make them very affordable. Dr. Stone’s ultimate goal is to make the program sustainable and managed solely by Ugandans. After a month and a half in Africa, I will start the day-long trip of changed flights and layovers back to the states. 
    I have been fortunate in that Auburn University has allowed me to transfer my scholarship to pay for a large portion of the NOLS course. With the help of my parents and my job this summer, I have this part of my trip financed. I am still attempting to fund the rest of my semester’s work by raising $2,500.
I know that you probably allocate funds each year to any number of charitable organizations. Wouldn’t it be nice to see the direct effect of your donation? This fall, besides keeping a blog as updated as internet service allows, I will write multiple articles for The Anniston Star and The Plainsman (Auburn University’s student newspaper). I am fully invested in this journey, for the aid I will be able to provide as well as the experience I will gain; experience that is necessary for me to pursue the career of my choice.   
    Any donations received not used on fare and travel expenses will be split three ways and donated to the organizations with which I have the pleasure to volunteer this fall. I truly appreciate any help you can give me and would love to talk to you further if you have questions about my trip.