[Arizona-students] Help Abroad

[Joe Orozco]

Dear Federationists,

    I very rarely promote requests to help people abroad, mostly because I 
cannot personally be satisfied that the resources will directly benefit the 
intended population.  However, the request below involves children and what 
is needed is not money, but items.  Blind children in Africa could never 
hope to enjoy the resources we take for granted in America.  I will 
personally see if I can solicit donations of print/Braille books, and I 
sincerely hope you will take a moment to think about any instructional item 
you possess that could be greatly beneficial to a child abroad or if you 
know of a resource that could make donations toward this very important 
endeavor.  As we dedicate our efforts at raising funds for the March for 
Independence, let us use a spare moment to use a little of that energy to 
help someone who needs us to give hope of that independence.

          Joe Orozco

From: Carol Hoover [mailto:cjchoover at austin.rr.com]
Sent: Monday, April 23, 2007 9:38 PM
To: Ann foxworth
Subject: Re: Request for info

Hello Ann, The Safari Club International (SCI) has set up a program for
hunters going to third world countries to take either educational and/or
medical supplies to help the indigenous people. Since these supplies are
usually sent in an SCI supplied blue bag, the program was labeled"The Blue
Bag". I know of several other hunters who have taken "Blue Bags", but they
usually take educational/medical supplies to local villagers. Because my
wife and I have been involved in educating people with sensory impairments
it seemed logical to me that we should take a specialized "Blue Bag" for
kids with visual impairments. I started researching this idea for Namibia
and basically got nowhere. I called Dr. Phil Hatlen at TSBVI and asked him
for his help. He put his administrative assistant on it and did not discover
much more than I. I then called the Namibian Embassy in Washington D.C. and
was told by an Embassy employee to email him. I did so and got no response.
I emailed my outfitter in Namibia and asked for his help. He gave an email
address and I emailed them and again no response. I called the Namibian
Embassy again and luckily got to speak with the Ambassador's secretary.
Later that night, the Ambassador called me and I returned his call the next
day. To make a long story short, he told me that kids with visual
impairments are not a high priority in his country because of all their
other needs as an emerging third world nation. The Ambassador also told me
this was a tragedy and any help we could provide would have the full weight
and influence of his office. The Ambassador gave contacts within the
Namibian Ministry of Education and their division of Special Education.
These people have given me a list of priority items they need. I can fax
this list to if needed. I have asked twice for a census of how many kids are
being educated in the two schools for the visually impaired, so that we have
an idea what we can/should bring. The Austin chapter of SCI will pay the
shipping charges for anything we bring.  Since I have two teachers of the
visually impaired going to Namibia, I asked SCI if they would pay for 2
bags, thereby doubling the amount of materials we can take. This would be
100 lbs. If other bulky materials are donated, we can ship those to the
Namibian Embassy in Washington and the Embassy will pay the shipping to
Namibia. I have been to Africa before and have an inkling about how things
work there. If we were to go the route of large agency to large agency, the
materials may not reach their intended population. I plan on hand delivering
these materials into the hands of the kids myself and will have
representatives from the Ministry of Education making sure that all goes to
plan.  As far as medical and low vision aids go, I have Dr. Laura Miller and
Nan Bulla working on that. Joe Pascal will give me some contacts with the
manufacturers of low vision aids and maybe they will make some donations. I
have also submitted a written proposal to HEB to fund nonprescription
medical supplies, clothing, toys, and school supplies. I should find out
about this tomorrow or the day after. Carol and I have also drafted a letter
to some of the local ophthalmologists to see what they can do. We will
contact an active member of the Lions Club to see if there is any interest
on their part. The Kiwanis Club will also be contacted. There are 2 ways I
can account for all monies spent. I can set up a special checking account at
the Teachers Credit Union (they know about this project) or we can use my
attorney's special fiduciary account. I am open to suggestions. I have never
done this before and would welcome suggestions as to how to account for this
money. If you have any other suggestions, please let me know as my timelines
are getting tight. We leave June 3rd and I would like to have most if not
all arranged by then. Respectfully submitted, Jerry Hoover