Thursday, May 14, 2009

Preparing for the trip


Our group leaves for Sierra Leone in two days (yea!), but much preparation has taken place in the past months. We have committees both in the U.S. and in Sierra Leone that work on healthcare, education, water and sanitation, food and agriculture and income year around. We set very specific goals for the trip, and the work continues throughout the year. Fortunately, we have four interns who are spending the entire summer in the villages. Three are undergraduates from Amherst College, and one is a 2nd year MBA student from Harvard Business School. They will continue the work after the rest of the team has returned to the U.S., and they are an invaluable resource for our organization.

Also joining us on the trip this year are four friends from Birmingham, Alabama, including one physician, who will comprise the majority of our healthcare team. We are also very happy to have along two graduate students from here in Minnesota who will work with the schools on education initiatives.

After having arrived in Sierra Leone this weekend after a series of on-time flights, no lost baggage, and minimal fatigue, I will submit another fascinating post. Be sure not to miss it!

Monday, May 4, 2009

Welcome to our Blog!

Hello to all supporters and friends of the Sierra Leone Plymouth Partnership. We have created this blog to follow this year's group in our trip to the villages from May 16-30. It is our hope to provide you with an account of a couple of important events of that day, along with news from our friends in FJP (Foindu, Jokibu and Pujehun). Of course, technical problems may intervene such as getting access to the internet, an adequately charged laptop and the unfortunate "downloading" of an organism that proves unkind to the western GI tract. In spite of these obstacles, we will make every effort possible to post the news of the day along with a photo or two. There is another motive behind this venture, which is to provide friends and love ones back home the reassurance that all is well with the travelers.

We hope that you will continue to check in and observe on a daily basis the very important work that is taking place in the villages. I promise, you will be thrilled, inspired and proud of what you see.