The Organization I will be traveling with & how I chose it

CLICK HERE to HELP me HELP them & DONATE today!

More about this amazing organization called Project Helping Hands!! FOLLOW ON FACEBOOK!! (when I am gone and have no contact with anyone they will update daily on their Facebook webpage as to how we are doing!)

I met a friend of a friend that was out here visiting Maui last year and we immediately clicked and became friends exchanging contact information & have been in touch ever since. We both shared a love for helping others and come from different medical backgrounds which I look forward to learning from her!  She told me all about her mission trips and where she has been and what she has done with this organization & she finally put that spark in me to do this!!!   More about her in another post!! Read more about this organization and check out the link below…who knows maybe you will fall in love and we can take a trip together in the future someday!! I am sure this won’t be my only trip with them. From what I have heard…they’re ADDICTING!!

PHH started in the early 1990’s and has been sending teams to developing nations around the world.  Countries such as Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Bolivia, Kenya, Liberia, Sudan, Uganda and the Philippines.  PHH puts together volunteer teams in countries where there is a recognized need.  They send these volunteer teams of both medical and non-medical into developing nations to provide both medical care along with preventative health services and education.  Their main goal is to hopefully see these areas as self sustaining villages. 

PHH provides a safe environment where team members are well taken care of and the food is always good. In addition, volunteers explore parts of the world very few people see while interacting with locals in a way that’s not possible when travelling as a tourist. Another benefit is the bond that develops among team members and with locals that transcends language and borders.

In 2010 PHH sent more than 170 volunteers on thirteen mission trips providing medical care for nearly 18,000 people in five developing nations!!!  In 2012 PHH expects to sponsor fourteen teams with a total of over 280 volunteers. PHH founder, Jeff Solheim a registered nurse, says the mission statement is simple: “Our goal is to provide quality health care where there is none and develop locally operated clinics in these locations. We also strive to provide an unforgettable personal growth opportunity for the volunteer.”

 

Their mission statement:

“Project Helping Hands is a non-affiliated not-for-profit organization dedicated to facilitating culturally sensitive growth opportunities for volunteers to provide health and medical intervention programs for those lacking access; to develop sustainable, locally-run health promotion and prevention programs, and to assist with the basic life needs of the less fortunate in developing nations.”

LINK to their website:  www.projecthelpinghands.org

AND PLEASE....even after my trip, continue to watch their website and FOLLOW THEM on FACEBOOK to see all of the amazing things they accomplish around the world.  Donate any amount of money year round to help fund the organization AND I DARE you to sign up for a trip yourself!!

EXPECT JET LAG!!!

CLICK HERE TO HELP me HELP them & DONATE today!

October 8^th ~ I received my unofficial itinerary for the trip today!!

While I haven’t booked my ticked from Maui to Portland yet because they leave from Mainland locations (so, if anyone has some FREQUENT FLIER miles they would like to donate for my extension from Maui to Portland LET ME KNOW!!) here is my itinerary:

                                                                                                                                               

Maui – Portland = 5 hours travel time

Portland – Amsterdam = 10.5 hours travel time

Amsterdam – Nairobi = 8 hours travel time

Total in-flight time being 23.5 hours !!! WOWZER………………..that doesn’t include my layover times and the night I will be spending in Portland before leaving that morning.  AND…then the same travel time back!! It’s all good though, I know my travel will mean so much to these people!!

TIPS from my manual:

• Sleeping pills in your carryon!! A neck pillow, ear plugs & eye shield! The more you sleep on the plane the quicker the trip will go and the better you will feel when you land. 
• Pack activities in your carryon! The length of these trips cannot be over emphasized. Be prepared to combat boredom!!
• Remove your shoes before take-off! Feet swell in the air!
• Wear comfortable clothes on the plane for sleeping, knowing that you will be wearing these same clothes, sometimes for TWO to THREE days!!
• Expect jet lag! General rule of thumb is that for every one hour you move from your home time zone, it takes about one day for your body to adjust.  So traveling 8 time zones, you may feel under the weather and fatigued for 8 days.  TO minimize jet lag, SLEEP lots on the flight over. Adjust your sleeping patterns and try to go to sleep at the time zone we will be arriving in. 

NAIROBI, Kenya is 13 hours ahead of me…So when I come back home I leave Feb 26^th from Kenya and travel 30 hours to arrive back to Porland on Feb 26^th!! CRAZY but FUN!!!

Upon arrival:

When we all arrive we have to purchase an ‘entrance visa’ (basically we pay another entrance fee to get in).  Fill out forms/documents yadda yadda.  Once we pass through customs and immigration, gotten my entry visa, paid my entry tax and gotten my passport stamped, I will need to get my luggage! HOLY moly, all this after about 30 hours of travel time!! When going through immigration with our luggage we are encouraged to feign being a tourist rather than a medical team member with our luggage.  If immigration personnel believe that we have valuable medications and supplies in our luggage, they are more likely to search and “confiscate” these items.  Purpose being to resell them on the black market. In my manual there are many “TIPS” given and one for the travel part is to “ALWAYS be honest with immigration officials when questioned, remain calm and polite, follow their requests and if no options seem available, surrender any supplies that are in question to avoid further problems.  ß sounds scarey when I think about it!!

                                                                                                                                                    

But after all that…we will exit the airport and be greeted by our host who will have ground transportation ready and our adventure begins!!