Diary - Wednesday, July 14, 2004
Presently, I’m looking out over a spectacular stretch
of beach that makes up the main foreshore of Terrigal, NSW, Australia.
Once again, we are visiting Pat’s step mom, Sue Edwards
and her husband Ted. Not only have these two been great supporters
of HABS, but they are incredible hosts as well and we are being
looked after like royalty. Thank you so much Ted and Sue!!! We
also spent a week up in Queensland visiting my brother John, his
wife PJ, their two children Zac and Luca and my two boys Justin
and Ben. We had a great time catching up with everyone and we
shared lots of good stories. I think I’ve mentioned before,
that one of the most difficult aspects of the work we are now
doing is the separation we experience from our friends and family.
We hope that in another year or so as the project becomes more
self sufficient, that we will be able to extricate ourselves from
Jambiani a bit more frequently so that we can see our loved ones
more often.
Pat and I expect to arrive back in BC on the 18th of July and
back in Victoria by the 19th. We have quite a busy schedule lined
up for the two and one half months that we will be in Victoria
and as is often the case, the time will no doubt slip by in a
hurry. Of course, our main focus will be fund raising again. I
have to admit, that this is not easy for Pat and I as it almost
seems like we have to beg for help when there is so much money
being wasted globally on destructive causes, however this is our
reality and as we are committed to the project we will persevere.
We will update you with the details of our fundraising activities
when they are finalized. Needless to say, we could never accomplish
what we are doing without the incredible love, support and help
from our friends, family and all the other individuals who have
contributed and continue to contribute to the HABS project. We
are forever grateful!
In Jambiani, the clinic will be closed now until we return in
October. It is our hope that this will be the last time we will
have an interruption in services to the people as our volunteer
base is expanding substantially now. Unfortunately, we were unable
to get a recent update from Grant and Barbara to add here today
but it is my understanding that they have arrived home safe and
sound. Thank you Grant and Barbara for your most amazing contribution
to the well being of those you touched and for being there with
such strength and determination during some challenging experiences.
We love you!!!
The next year or so promises to be one of evolution for HABS.
We have a number of projects coming on line as mentioned in earlier
updates and I feel we are shifting into the next phase of our
work on Zanzibar, a phase that will see the implementation of
medical services at the centre, the hosting of a specialist eye
care clinic, a possible cultural/musical event, the continued
teaching of English and massage therapy, the teaching of ball
hockey, the building of a storage facility for used batteries
along with a program to collect those same batteries, the construction
of refuse containers along the beach, a composting workshop and
hopefully completing the required renovations and finishing work
at the clinic as well as the establishment of a wireless internet
service so that our communications capabilities are no longer
reliant on a once a week trip to town. It’s an ambitious
list but we are confident that we can progress to this next level
and we are looking forward to facilitating as much of this work
as possible.
In the next update, I’ll be profiling our next string of
volunteers who are scheduled to arrive on Zanzibar after we return
in October.
We hope you are all well and happy and still enjoying life to
the max each and every day.
Love to you from we two. :)
|
