The Zambia 2011 Workteam had a meeting on Thursday, November 18th. Eleanor Dunn shared with us that our travel agent, Jasminka, had been researching our flights for us. However, the news was not good at first, as she was not able to secure a seat sale, and according to her estimates, the round-trip tickets from Thunder Bay to Ndola were going to cost $3,500 when routed through London.
We also discussed fundraising opportunities at the meeting, specifically a TBSO balcony fundraiser, and bringing in a guest speaker for a breakfast and/or dinner. Finally, Doug went over the design for the Team t-shirts and brought some samples and prices for the group to consider.
A couple of days later, Jasminka had found a much better airfare, and tentatively booked us some flights with the routing through Iceland, and the time had come to make a commitment to go to Zambia. On Monday, November 29th, we had an "emergency" meeting to have a conference call with Jasminka and ask her any questions about the flights, insurance, etc. We had a lot to think about before our deadline of the following day!
After prayerful consideration, seven people made the commitment and purchased their airfare to Zambia: Ted, Jean, Doug, Jeanette, Moira, Daphne, and our leader, The Rev. Nancy Ringham. There are still some spots available on the team, so anyone who is still interested in joining the team still has lots of time.
Our next meeting will be Friday, December 10th at 5:00 pm at the Nu-Vision office at 1171 Oliver Road, across from the Northwestern Veterinary Hospital (click here for directions).
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Knitted Hats for Lifesong School
We are getting the information out there about our mission next year, and people are starting to come forward with ways to help out. Alison, a member of the Parish of West Thunder Bay, is spearheading a project to knit hats for the students at the Lifesong School:
In July 2011, a team from the Thunder Bay area, under the leadership of Rev. Nancy Ringham, will be travelling to the town of Kitwe in Zambia to work at Lifesong School. This school provides education to about 200 orphaned children - some of thesechildren live in the community, but many of them live and are cared for at the school.
Check out their website: http://www.lifesongfororphans.org.
The hope is to bring 200 knitted hats to give to the children.
A couple of simple patterns are available. Once you are done knitting mitts and hats for the Christmas Cheer program, please consider knitting a hat or two for this project!
All hats collected will be pinned to our "Knitted Hats for Lifesong School" banner hanging in the basement of St. Mark's Church.
Help us fill the banner with 200 hats by July 2011.
Please contact Alison Hart at 935-2324 or ajhart@tbaytel.net for the patterns for the knitted hats shown below, or for more information.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Our Third Meeting
Our third information meeting was held last night at St. Mark's Anglican Church. Along with our team leader, the Rev. Nancy Ringham, there were five other people in attendance. Some had been to previous meetings, but others were attending for the first time. After opening in prayer, Nancy welcomed everyone and we all introduced ourselves and said why we were interested in going to Zambia.
Nancy started by saying that she had ordered a study guide on short-term missions for the group, and that we would begin in November. Nancy also informed us that our travel agent had not heard anything about special fares being released in December, but said that she would keep us up to date. After that, Doug presented two options for a logo. We agreed that it would be a good idea to have team t-shirts, and also ones available for team supporters. Doug said that he would look further into costs to have these made up.
After that, Jeanette presented her idea for the "tourist week" at the end of our time in Zambia, to enjoy a safari and spend some time at Victoria Falls. She prepared a cost estimate and some information on the two lodges she thought would showcase the best of Zambia's natural wonders, both the wildlife and the beautiful countryside. She said that she would look into the possibility of using charter planes, as our group might be large enough to make it cost effective, and it may also cut down the travel time to get around the country.
We then tossed out ideas for fund-raising again, and the idea of hosting a coffee house was met with enthusiasm, as well as hosting a spaghetti supper, perhaps in January, and lining up a guest speaker. Nancy said that she had also applied to the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra for two balcony fundraisers for Spring 2011.
At the close of the meeting, it was decided that Thursday evenings would work better for people, so the next meeting will be on Thursday, November 18, 2010 at St. Mark's Anglican Church.
Nancy started by saying that she had ordered a study guide on short-term missions for the group, and that we would begin in November. Nancy also informed us that our travel agent had not heard anything about special fares being released in December, but said that she would keep us up to date. After that, Doug presented two options for a logo. We agreed that it would be a good idea to have team t-shirts, and also ones available for team supporters. Doug said that he would look further into costs to have these made up.
After that, Jeanette presented her idea for the "tourist week" at the end of our time in Zambia, to enjoy a safari and spend some time at Victoria Falls. She prepared a cost estimate and some information on the two lodges she thought would showcase the best of Zambia's natural wonders, both the wildlife and the beautiful countryside. She said that she would look into the possibility of using charter planes, as our group might be large enough to make it cost effective, and it may also cut down the travel time to get around the country.
We then tossed out ideas for fund-raising again, and the idea of hosting a coffee house was met with enthusiasm, as well as hosting a spaghetti supper, perhaps in January, and lining up a guest speaker. Nancy said that she had also applied to the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra for two balcony fundraisers for Spring 2011.
At the close of the meeting, it was decided that Thursday evenings would work better for people, so the next meeting will be on Thursday, November 18, 2010 at St. Mark's Anglican Church.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Our Second Meeting
The second information session was held last night, Tuesday, September 14, at St. Mark's Anglican Church. Along with our organizer, Eleanor Dunn, and our team leader, The Rev. Nancy Ringham, eight other people came who were interested in finding out more information. There were a few other people who are interested but were unable to attend.
After an opening prayer, everyone introduced themselves and described their occupation and what other talents they might be able to contribute to the team.
Eleanor Dunn then went through the basic mandate of the short-term mission, which is to do some fundraising for a capital project at the Lifesong School in Kitwe Zambia, which we will then visit next summer for 10 to 14 days. The school has about 200 students, all orphans, and although Lifesong (who has schools in other countries around the world) is able to do fundraising for operating costs, the school does need to expand to accommodate more classrooms. The school would like to build an additional four classrooms on a pre-existing slab foundation. Although the total cost for the four classrooms will be approximately $57,000 (they have received several quotations for the work), Eleanor recommended that we make, as our goal, $15,000 for one classroom, and perhaps future teams will be able to raise enough for the remaining classrooms.
The $15,000 would be enough to purchase building materials and hire labourers, so our goal in actually going to the school would be to lend our other talents and to meet our hosts. The children always enjoy visits, but they have other needs as well. Last year's team was able to provide a dental clinic, physiotherapy, education workshops, and build a playground. Once our team has gelled (after airfare is paid for when the special fares come out in December), we will assess what talents we have and brainstorm what other things we can bring to benefit the school.
Eleanor was also able to answer any questions and concerns about the mission, including logistics regarding health, language and safety. Having lived Zambia for eight years and leading last year's team to the school, her information was very helpful in answering these questions.
At the end of the meeting, we tossed around ideas for fundraising, such as dinners, guest speakers, and other personal fundraising ideas. All in all, it was a very informative meeting, and a good chance to meet some of the other people considering this short-term mission to Zambia.
We have set our third meeting date: Tuesday, October 19, 2010 at 7:00 pm at St. Mark's Anglican Church (click here for directions to St. Mark's). Anyone who is interested in hearing more about the Zambia Workteam 2011 is welcome to attend. See you there!
After an opening prayer, everyone introduced themselves and described their occupation and what other talents they might be able to contribute to the team.
Eleanor Dunn then went through the basic mandate of the short-term mission, which is to do some fundraising for a capital project at the Lifesong School in Kitwe Zambia, which we will then visit next summer for 10 to 14 days. The school has about 200 students, all orphans, and although Lifesong (who has schools in other countries around the world) is able to do fundraising for operating costs, the school does need to expand to accommodate more classrooms. The school would like to build an additional four classrooms on a pre-existing slab foundation. Although the total cost for the four classrooms will be approximately $57,000 (they have received several quotations for the work), Eleanor recommended that we make, as our goal, $15,000 for one classroom, and perhaps future teams will be able to raise enough for the remaining classrooms.
The $15,000 would be enough to purchase building materials and hire labourers, so our goal in actually going to the school would be to lend our other talents and to meet our hosts. The children always enjoy visits, but they have other needs as well. Last year's team was able to provide a dental clinic, physiotherapy, education workshops, and build a playground. Once our team has gelled (after airfare is paid for when the special fares come out in December), we will assess what talents we have and brainstorm what other things we can bring to benefit the school.
Eleanor was also able to answer any questions and concerns about the mission, including logistics regarding health, language and safety. Having lived Zambia for eight years and leading last year's team to the school, her information was very helpful in answering these questions.
At the end of the meeting, we tossed around ideas for fundraising, such as dinners, guest speakers, and other personal fundraising ideas. All in all, it was a very informative meeting, and a good chance to meet some of the other people considering this short-term mission to Zambia.
We have set our third meeting date: Tuesday, October 19, 2010 at 7:00 pm at St. Mark's Anglican Church (click here for directions to St. Mark's). Anyone who is interested in hearing more about the Zambia Workteam 2011 is welcome to attend. See you there!
Friday, August 20, 2010
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Link to Last Year's Team's Blog
In case you'd like an idea of what we'll be doing, here is a link to the Zambia 2010 Workteam's blog:
http://zambiaworkteam2010.blogspot.com/
Once we have a team more or less in place, then we will determine how best to utilize everyone's skills.
http://zambiaworkteam2010.blogspot.com/
Once we have a team more or less in place, then we will determine how best to utilize everyone's skills.
First Steps
On Thursday, August 12, 2010, we had our first meeting with Eleanor and Ray Dunn, who will be planning the logistics of our trip to Zambia in July 2011 to work at the Lifesong school in Kitwe. This meeting was a preliminary information session, attended by a few interested people. Ray and Eleanor shared what the 2010 team had done and experienced in Zambia, and they are a wealth of knowledge, having years of experience leading mission groups. They have also lived in Zambia for eight years, and any fears or misgivings we had about the trip were set aside. We are in capable hands!
The Zambia 2010 team, who returned last month, will be hosting a Corn Supper on Saturday, September 11, 2010 at Knox United Church, and that will be the first "formal" opportunity to extend the invitation to all those who may be interested in joining the team for 2011. We are looking forward to talking to the team, hearing their stories, and how this experience has changed their lives.
This is an exciting opportunity!
The Zambia 2010 team, who returned last month, will be hosting a Corn Supper on Saturday, September 11, 2010 at Knox United Church, and that will be the first "formal" opportunity to extend the invitation to all those who may be interested in joining the team for 2011. We are looking forward to talking to the team, hearing their stories, and how this experience has changed their lives.
This is an exciting opportunity!
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