Lemonade Stand

The neighborhood kids had a lemonade stand today and took some of the money home for themselves, and donated some of the money to the Senegal trip. Thanks to all of them who helped out and for their generosity!

Got our shots!!!

We got our shots today. Just two each, although I am doing typhoid orally, and Zach still needs to get a meningitis vaccine at his doctor's office. Zach was a little overwhelmed with all the precautions -- don't swim in the water, don't eat any uncooked foods, use bug repellant, sleep under a mosquitoe net, don't drink any dairy unless it is pasteurized, etc etc etc. But the appointment at the travel clinic was great because it helped us to really be on top of the things we need to be sure to pack, etc.

I don't think Alyssa is feeling too jealous about our trip right now, seeing as how she didn't have to get any shots!!!

We picked up the medical kits that we will donate!

We picked up medical kits at Project CURE! And boy, what an amazing thing it was. The warehouse is HUGE. The medical supplies are stacked row after row after row. Most of the medical supplies come from upgrades (there is a newer and better out there, so why use the old one??) and from packs of sterile supplies in which one or a few items were used, but the others were not. The amazing thing is that there are 4 warehouses as big as this one in the US, and a number of collection centers, as well. All I can say is that I am glad that all this stuff is being captured so that it ends up in the hands of people who need it, instead of in a landfill.

The top left picture here is a picture of the type of medical kits we will be taking with us on our trip. We will take 4 of them - one for each village we will visit, and one for the folks in Dakar who are helping us out.

On another note, Project CURE won the big award they were competing for. They were selected by ColoradoBiz Magazine as the winner of their Top Company award for nonprofits.

Flooding in Senegal

Horse-cart drivers navigate deep floodwaters on the outskirts of Dakar, Senegal, on Saturday. ( Rebecca Blackwell, The Associated Press )

Fatal flooding overwhelms homes and businesses on western coast of Africa
By The Associated Press


FASS MBAO, Senegal — Torrential rains have lashed Africa's western coast for the past three months, killing 159 people and flooding the homes and businesses of more than 600,000 others, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Human Affairs.

They include the patients of one of Burkina Faso's largest hospitals, who had to be carried out on gurneys after water invaded the wards. They include those living on the banks of a river in northern Niger, whose homes were swept away when a dike burst under the weight of the rain.
Among the six countries where the flooding has been most severe — Senegal, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Niger and Ghana — the neighborhoods most affected are the poor ones. Typically these communities are the result of urban sprawl, built without municipal approval, using unsafe materials.

The U.N. estimates that just in Senegal, 264,000 people have been affected by flooding. And although many families say their homes flood every year, they say that they do not have the money to move.

Senegal receives $540 Million Millenium Challenge Grant

The board of directors of the U.S. Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), chaired by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, approved a five-year, $540 million compact grant to the Republic of Senegal to reduce poverty through economic growth. The compact, according to a September 7 MCC announcement, will focus on road rehabilitation and food security initiatives in some of the poorest regions of Senegal.

"On behalf of MCC, I want to congratulate the people and government of Senegal for developing an innovative compact that will make a tremendous difference in reducing poverty through economic growth by bolstering food security and transportation connectivity," said Darius Mans, acting MCC chief executive officer. "The Senegalese have laid out a clear vision of improving the quality of their lives through a results-oriented plan. MCC welcomes the opportunity to work together to achieve these compact goals."

The compact will invest in rehabilitating roads in the northern and southern regions of Senegal. Improving these roads is vital to supporting the agricultural sector -- by creating reliable, cost-effective and time-saving means to transport locally produced agricultural products to domestic and international markets year-round, the MCC announcement states. In addition to getting products and consumers to markets, these roads will provide access to essential community services such as schools and hospitals.

The compact also will invest in a strategic irrigation and water resources management project. This project, according to the MCC, will develop up to 10,500 hectares of additional irrigated land in the Senegal River Valley by increasing the volume of irrigation water. This work will prevent the abandonment of 26,000 hectares of existing irrigable land by rehabilitating drainage canals and expanding secure land tenure. The project will maximize the potential of the irrigated zone by increasing crop yields. For a country that currently imports 70 percent of its rice, the irrigation project will move Senegal a step closer to greater food security.
A compact is a multiyear agreement between the Millennium Challenge Corporation and an eligible country to fund specific programs targeted at reducing poverty and stimulating economic growth.

These programs must be developed in consultation with a country's citizens -- including women, nongovernmental organizations and the private sector -- and have the ability to measure both economic growth and poverty reduction.
Relevant Links
West Africa
U.S., Canada and Africa
Senegal
Sustainable Development
The Millennium Challenge Corporation is a U.S. government corporation designed to work with some of the poorest countries in the world. Established in January 2004, MCC is based on the principle that aid is most effective when it reinforces good governance and economic freedom and investments in people. MCC's mission is to reduce global poverty by promoting sustainable economic growth. Before a country can become eligible to receive assistance, MCC looks at its performance on independent and transparent policy indicators. MCC selects eligible countries for compact assistance.
MCC expects to sign the compact with Senegal on September 16. It will be signed by Senegalese Minister of Finance and Economy Abdoulaye Diop and Acting MCC CEO Mans at the State Department in Washington. Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade and Secretary Clinton will preside at the signing, the MCC announcement said.

Map of Senegal

Here is a map of Senegal. We will be in Dakar, St. Louis, and in the Matam region (in and around the town of Matam, in the northwest part of the country).

Project C.U.R.E.

ColoradoBiz Magazine has recognized PROJECT C.U.R.E. as a finalist for its annual Top Company award in the nonprofit category. The organization shares this early distinction with two other Colorado-based nonprofits: Denver Rescue Mission and Colorado Uplift.

Top Company is Colorado’s most competitive business awards program, judged on the basis of sustained financial performance, operational excellence and community involvement.Companies submit or are nominated to the program. Long-time sponsor Deloitte selects finalists after rigorous evaluations. Then a panel of business professionals and leading policy officials convenes to determine winners in each category.Winners in each category will be announced Sept. 15 at an awards luncheon in the Seawell Ballroom at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.

Learn more about Project C.U.R.E. at: http://www.projectcure.org/