It isn't too late to help us meet our goal of 473 donors.....

It has been a great launch day. We have had donors from Alaska, Oregon, Alabama, and of course from our friends in Michigan. We have had some of our regular donors donate, new donors, and one very special donor who decided to give $473.00 - one dollar for every child that died in Kenya today from preventable causes. People have donated in honor of loved ones and others have donated in recognition of someone they admire. Each of these people received an email card telling them of the donation.

It isn't too late to donate or to ask others to donate to help us meet the goal of 473 donors on our launch day. I hope many of you have had an opportunity to visit the website. So many helped make the website a reality...Ryan Morris, Dan Kellenberger, Sharon Dicks, David Gruber and all the other board members who helped.

I like what Linda (PFC board member) said today...what we do here matters there.

Thank you all for caring for those so far away....but who are always close in our hearts.

Praying to meet our goal of 473 donors today...

Connie

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Here is the link....

Several of you have contacted me and asked for the link to the new website. It is:

www.partnersforcare.org

Thanks for helping make our launch a day we will remember as the day we raised funds to help the team in Kenya!

Praying for 473 donors...Connie

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Today is the launch of the new Partners for Care website

Today is launch day for the new Partners for Care website. And, today is the day we hope to have 473 people go to the website and donate to help save the lives of the children in Kenya. All the funds raised will be sent to the team in Kenya - the team you will see on the website. What do they do with the funds? They buy bednets for the children; they will buy medications they need for the Partners for Care health clinic; they buy sacks and seedings for sack gardens; they will use the funds to harvest the crop from the PFC Hope Farm that is ready; they use the funds to help the children of Parkishon. Everything they do is focused on helping prevent the deaths of the 473 children that die everyday in Kenya.

Thank you for helping the team in Kenya. 

One of the Parkishon children PFC helps

Praying for the team in Kenya as they work to reach the children,

Connie.

Follow the medical student team in Kenya

Partners for Care is blessed to have a team of medical students from the University of Tennessee Medical School in Memphis work with us in Kenya on the mHealth program.

Their overall goal is to evaluate the implementation of the mHealth program, make recommendations for improvement and write protocals and procedures for both the mHealth program and the clinic. They are working closely with the Global HEED team.

They have created a blog and if you want you can follow along with them as they help the Kenyan team.

http://kindnessinkenya-2012.blogspot.com/

Wonderful to have them "on the ground" helping with improving the way the PFC team serves the people of Kenya,

Connie
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Launch heroes

Many of you are responding to our request to get spread the word through email, regular mail and social media about our new website launch this Friday. With only 4 days left I wanted to thank those that we are calling our "launch heroes". These are people who are helping us make our launch date goal of having 473 people visit the website and make a decision to help by donating. Launch heroes include.....all our board members (our board always supports PFC activities!) and Cris Willis, Rennatus, Sharon Dicks, Dan Kellenberger and others. Thanks so much for helping!

Just last week one of our staff in Kenya lost his only child to pneumonia. A precious little boy who was just 8 years old. Like I have said before - sometimes we know one of the children who die from a preventable or a treatable disease. It becomes personal to us and to the staff in Kenya. We want to help the team in Kenya to stop so many deaths of children to diseases that can be prevented or treated.

Help us help them....

Connie

We are asking for your help......

We are asking for your help on the day of the launch of our new website - July 27, 2012.  Please spread the word of our launch campaign by sending the attached campaign card to others through email, Facebook, and other social media.  Our goal for launch day is to have 473 people visit our new website and donate!  

Why 473?  

That is how many children die everyday in Kenya - they die from things that can be prevented.  They die from malaria for the lack of a bed net.  A bed net cost $5.00.  They die from malnutrition.  A sack garden that grows vegetables for a child costs $10.00.  They die from pneumonia that isn't treated.  Treatment in the Partners for Care clinic costs 50 cents.  They die from HIV/AIDS.  The Partners for Care team reaches thousands with the message of how to prevent babies from being born infected.  All of the funds we raise that day will go to Kenya so the Partners for Care team can do what they do best - prevent children from dying.  The question is what if? 473 children didn't die everyday in Kenya.  

You can help be part of the answer.  Just 12 days to spread the word....so we are asking for your help.

A patriotic fund-raiser

David Gruber, co-founder of Partners for Care and a board member, has always been creative in the ways he raises funds to support Kathi's House of Restoration. Kathi's House, our ministry in Maai Mahui, is in memory of David's late wife who had a dream to serve in Africa. David now keeps her dream alive by supporting the ministry of Pastor John and his wife Mary who direct PFC's ministries in Maai Mahui.

David connected us with InComm, who has been one of our best corporate sponsors. This 4th of July David and InComm have donated $2,300.00. One of the ways some of the funds were raised was by raffling a 4th of July basket. Donna Baugh was happy to win the basket!

Donna Baugh

Thank you David and InComm,

Connie

Lauching new website

In the next week you will be hearing more about the launch of our new website! Our launch date is July 20th. Everyday in Kenya 473 children die mostly from preventable diseases. We are planning a launch campaign to raise awareness and funding for the team in Kenya who work diligently to help save the lives of these children. More later...

Connie
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Steve Saint

Last year at the medical mission conference I had the honor and blessing of meeting Steve Saint - a great man of God (see http://partnersforcare.blogspot.com/2011/11/meeting-extraordinary-man.html) . Steve is the son of Nate Saint, one of the five matryed missionaries whose story is told in End of the Spear. Steve understands how to help without hurting and lives with his live to spread the good news of Jesus. A week ago Steve was injured and suffered a spinal injury. He has limited movement of his arms and legs. Tomorrow he is having surgery to relieve pressure on his spine hopefully to relieve some of his pain. I have forwarded to you the recent update I received...watch the video. Hear from Steve himself how he is and how he is still spreading the news of how to help in a developing nation. I only pray if my life suddenly changed as Steve's did that I would have the courage and the faith he has. Even in his pain and fear, he is telling others of the good news of Christ.

Praying for Steve - 

Partners for Care mHealth project is featured on the Sana website

Our mHealth project is featured on the Sana website http://sana.mit.edu/ it is exciting to see our program on their website. We are partnering with Global HEED and Sana on this project.

Connie
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One thing I love about my role with Partners for Care....

One thing I love about my role with Partners for Care is meeting with people who have a passion to help others. Sometimes it is a young person like Jonah. Jonah is a 15 year old boy who needed to do a service project for his Bar Mitzvah.. Jonah wanted to do something different from the typical service projects. He decided to collect soccer equipment to send to kids in a developing nation. He contacted Peace Passers who connected him with us. We met Jonah and his Mom last week and they gave us:

95 pair soccer shoes
35 soccer balls
30 pairs shin guards
and many other pieces of soccer equipment

The photo tells the story.

Thanking God for kids like Jonah who work hard to help equip the Partners for Care team in Kenya to reach the youth through their sports ministry,

Connie
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Partners for Care featured on the PEACEPASSERS website

Our partnership with Peace Passers has been such a blessing! They have given us literally thousands of dollars worth of soccer equipment that we have taken to Kenya. We have received soccer shoes, uniforms, balls, goalie shirts, socks, shin guards, referee shirts, etc. We have been able to fully outfit teams with the soccer gear that they have sent us. Our teams that go to Kenya carry the gear for us. Recently, the team from Michigan took hundreds of pieces of soccer gear. The picture featured on the Peace Passers website is of the tournament in Marurui that the Michigan tean sponsored! Here is the link
http://peacepassers.org/collaboration-makes-the-world-go-round'

Candice (founder and director of Peace Passers) is right....collaboration makes the world go round.

Grateful for people like Candice who have a heart for the world,


Connie
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Temples of Worship's tribute to Susan

When we heard of the a sudden death of our dear mum, Susan, we asked ourselves why God? The person who gave everything not for herself but for people who live many miles away from her. She gave not only her  money but her precious time. A person who loved what we do. She loved our music which she use to listen to when she was driving. The person who wanted us to come to the US to sing our music which we are using to fight HIV. Now who will do what she wanted to do?

We have so many questions we are asking ourselves. The only hope and assurance we have is that after work people go home to relax. She was called home to go and relax after everything she did on the face of the earth. Even though we are very far from her family we serve one father who knows our heart and we can reach each other through Him our God. So we want to tell the family we understand how you are feeling and the Lord who sees everywhere will give you peace.  One day we will come to the US and sing our song "Remember Me" where we will be remembering everything she did when she was alive.

The Temples of Worship
Sammy, George, Franko, David and Justus

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Even through Susan's death...

Even through her death, Susan is working to raise funds for those she loved in Kenya. In lieu of flowers her family has asked donations be sent to Partners for Care www.ingramfuneralhome.com. Her visitation is Saturday night 5-8 pm at Ingram's funeral home in Cumming. I will go to represent those she loved in Kenya.

Missing a good friend,

Connie
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Partners for Care has lost a friend

Partners for Care has lost a dear friend and a board member. Susan Spencer died this afternoon leaving many here and 10,000 miles away saddened. Susan loved the people of Kenya especially the young men in the Temples of Worship. She played their music over and over and dreamed of the day she would return to Kenya to see them again. She also hoped someday they would come to the US and sing in churches here. When that day comes they will dedicate a song to Susan. It is hard to lose a friend...I will personally miss our visits and our talks on the phone as I shared with her how "her boys' as she called them were doing.

We pray for her family at this difficult time....Connie

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They came to serve

They came to serve with the Kenyan PFC staff. Side by side the two teams served together in Marsabit, Marurui and Mathare slum. The Michigan team members were Dr. and Pat Wendt and their children Jenny and Caleb, Dr. and Kim Wills, Dawn, Gary and Teresa, Sue and her son Cal, Amanda, Jen Garborg, Julie and Linda, a PFC board member.

Together with the PFC staff the following was accomplished:

• Dental care for all the PFC staff and 3 of their family members
• Dental care for 58 people in Marsabit
• Nets distributed, community health taught and hypertension and diabetic screening for 111 persons at our medical clinic
• Dr. Craig and Julie, RN, saw patients at the clinic in consultation with Dr. Vincent
• Marriage mentoring for 43 people in Marsabit and Nairobi
• Sponsored a soccer tournament in Marurui
• Served 950 people in Marsabit in 3 medical camps
• Checked all the computers in the IT school and repaired three of them
• Developed a food security plan for Kathi's House
• Visited 3 clients at Community Transformers and took each one food
• Taught school and held a end-of-the term celebration for 2 days at Tree House Children's Home

The Michigan team also equipped the ministries of PFC with the following:

• i-Dent dental chair to be used to provide dental care to those in the tribal areas
• i-See eyeglass program
• 200 bed nets
• An oral devise for Bible stories in the Rendile language
• A guitar and a banjo
• Watches and thermometers for the mHealth program
• A kitchen knife
• School supplies for 2nd Chance School
• 50 leadership books for the PFC staff
• 100 pair of shoes
• Soccer equipment - 46 soccer shoes, 19 cones, 72 bibs, 43 balls, 14 sports socks, 92 jerseys, 18 shorts and 1 volleyball
• Many people were served and many more will be served with the equipping of the PFC team.

We are grateful for the Michigan team - the friends who returned and the new friends we have met!

The Michigan team with the Partners for Care Kenya team

A very special thank you to Melinda who prepared the team spiritually to come and covered them with prayer while they were serving.

Blessed to have served together,

Connie
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Thanks David

David, thanks for letting us use your lens when we went to Marsabit. We know how important your camera equipment is to you! We wanted to share with you some of the photos Sam took...

Mom and Sam
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The children of Parkishon

When some of the team members of this team who is with us from Michigan came last time they did a medical camp at Parkishon. They felt the children there were among the sickest children they had ever seen. The children had fungus, upper respiratory infections, jiggers on their hands and feet and were malnourished.

The children in August

In August we started funding Pastor Hirbo to go to Parkishon once a week to treat the jiggers. He has treated 350 of the children for jiggers. He has worked with the moms teaching them how to prevent the jigger infestation and other community diseases.

Yesterday the team who had been there before were amazed at how much better the children were. We found only a few children infected with jiggers. And, it was wonderful to see the children in their Crocs that Cris Willis had bought for them! They prevent the jiggers...and they hold up even in the Marsabit harsh conditions!

The children today

Sometimes it is easy to get discouraged...but seeing the children of Parkishon so much better was encouraging.

From Marsabit,

Connie
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A little about where we are - Marsabit

Marsabit is in the far Northeastern part of Kenya. It is considered arid land. Here are some facts about where we are serving:

Population - 291,166 in the area
Marsabit town population - 60,000
Density per km - 4
Poverty rate - 91.7%
Number with secondary education - 8.9%
Population with electricity - 7.5%
Paved roads - 0%

Marsabit roads

Immunized - 60%
Children born in a health care facility - 17.9%
Can read and write - 26.2%
Annual rainfall - 0%

Marsabit land

The statistics speak for themselves but it doesn't really tell the whole story of what we see and feel when we are here. It is easy to get overwhelmed when you see the poverty, the lack of water, the hard life of so many here. Women walk for MILES for water and firewood. But, Pastor Hirbo is making a difference here - one child, one school, one village at a time.

From Marsabit,

Connie
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Leaving Marsabit

It is late Sunday night in Marsabit town. We are preparing to leave at 5 am in the morning to head south through the desert to return to Nairobi. Many on this trip will be forever changed. They have seen things they didn't know existed. Many have had their hearts broken at seeing what abject poverty looks like and the effect it has on children. Most children here are very small in stature but big eyes and smiles.

Praying together

The team has had an impact here in Marsabit. Here are the numbers:

Seen in medical camps - 950

Dr. Vincent and Dr. Craig seeing a patient

Charles and Linda taking blood pressures

Peter helping an elderly

Treated by the dentist - 58 (4 cavities were filled and 75 teeth extracted)

Dr. Wills working on a patient

Said yes to Jesus - 19

Jen praying for people

Signed a commitment card to do their part to fight HIV/AIDS - over 500

A pastor signing a commitment card

Many hours spent playing soccer!

Soccer with the boys

The team did great! Everyone worked hard with no complaining even though it was hot and the days were long.

Justus

Blessed by the team from Michigan,

BSW
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