Bake Sales!

Fundraising progress is going well! I've raised over $1000 thanks to all your donations, working at a conference, and our first bake sale. At the bake sale, the big sellers were cupcakes, so I made over 50 last night. I've gotten quite fancy with the decorations and I can easily justify spending my time baking for a good cause than writing papers.

We will be having more bake sales next week on the 7th floor of the Hall building and I will be bringing MORE CUPCAKES!

Also, I had a successful and relatively painless vaccine experience! I received 3 immunizations and 1 TB test (4 needles). I stayed horizontal and ate lots of candy and I DID NOT FAINT.

Vaccines and more donations!

After sending a round of emails to family friends and relatives, I have received quite a few more donations! The total is now $760, leaving $1740 to raise! I cannot thank you enough for your contributions!!

On another note, I have to get  immunizations tomorrow morning. If any of you know me well, you will know that I have an extreme phobia of anything medical, but especially of blood and needles. In grade five, I passed out on my teacher after watching an educational film about washing cuts. While getting some immunizations before traveling to Thailand a few years ago, I fainted and had a pseudo-seizure at the doctor's office. After this pseudo-seizure thing I warned the travel nurse that was giving me more needles. She had me lie down (because you can't faint with your heart above your head) and gave me candy to raise my blood sugar. This horizontal approach actually made the whole procedure a lot less traumatizing. Tomorrow, I will eat lots of candy, insist on lying down, and whatever I do, NOT look at the nurse or the needles. Wish me luck!!

Melissa

Fundraising Progress

The task of raising $2500 seemed daunting at first (especially when donations were few with the initial launch of my Facebook fund raising campaign). However, over the past two weeks I have been amazed by how fast donations add up.  I am very appreciative to everyone who has donated to our community organizations in Uganda thus far. Thank you for your generosity!

So far I have received contributions totaling $540. This means that YOUR DONATIONS have helped me successfully raise the mandatory $500 as a sign of my commitment to CVAP. This money goes directly to the community organizations I will be working with in Gulu, including The Aids Support Organization (TASO), SOS Children’s Villages,  St. Jude Children’s Home, and SOM (a local community program for agricultural, spiritual, economic, and health empowerment). 

This leaves a remaining $1960 to be raised but I am confident that with YOUR HELP I will reach my target. 

Thank you all once again!

As many of you know, I have been accepted as a volunteer with the Concordia Volunteers Abroad Program (CVAP) to participate in a two-month long volunteer program in Gulu, Uganda over the summer of 2011.


To make this trip a reality, and to contribute to our partner organizations in Gulu, I need to raise $2500, and I need your help to reach this goal. Every small contribution goes a long way in Uganda, and with your support I kno...w I will be able to reach my target.

Please donate between $5 and $50.

While $10 is barely enough for a meal in Canada, $10 in Uganda will treat a child with malaria. For the price of a coffee, you can change a child's life.

I am inviting you to join me on this quest to raise AIDS/HIV awareness, and promote community empowerment by supporting sustainable development. Together we can make a difference!
Please Donate Now

• You can send money to my PayPal account (m_armbr@live.concordia.ca) by clicking the DONATE button above.

• Or, You can donate directly to CVAP by clicking this link. Please include your name AND my name for these transactions (eg. Your Name/Melissa): Concordia Volunteers Abroad Program

• Additionally, I can accept cheques (made out to Concordia Volunteers Abroad Program), cash in person, or email money transfers. Please message me for my mailing address or to arrange a meeting in person.

More About CVAP:

The Concordia Volunteer Abroad Program is a non-profit organization operating with support from the Concordia student body. The Program supports community led development in Northern Uganda through partnerships with local NGOs. CVAP works with The Aids Support Organization (TASO), SOS Children’s Villages, The St. Jude Children’s Home, and SOM (a local community program for agricultural, spiritual, economic, and health empowerment). Over the past 5 years CVAP has made an incredible contribution to the people of Gulu; they have constructed houses, offered HIV testing and counselling to over 1,500 people, partnered to provide a clinic at the St. Jude Children’s Home, and helped to open and stock a resource center for the SOS Children’s Village, to name a few. The program provides students like me an opportunity to participate in promoting change in this community and gain invaluable academic and personal experience. To learn more about the Concordia Volunteer Abroad Program please visit their website at www.concordiavolunteers.org

I was recently moved by 11 year-old, Teddy's story:

"My mother and father died in 1996. My father died in the hospital. But I saw my mother die here. Because I was a bit older than the others, I looked after her. I used to cook food for her, wash her clothes, and boil herbs for her. She told me she was suffering from Aids, but she didn't tell me how she got it or how to avoid it. I wish she'd told me more about it...When my mother died we suffered so much. There was no food, and there was no one to look after us. We didn't even have money to buy soap and salt. We wanted to run away to our other grandparents, but we didn't have transport to go there."

Unfortunately, Teddy's experience is not uncommon in Uganda. Indeed, the community in Gulu Town faces many challenges. This region was the site of a 20 year civil war, which thankfully came to an end in 2005. This conflict resulted in abductions, death, and forced displacement. The advent of peace brings new hope and opportunity to the people of Northern Uganda. I hope to contribute to this through my work this summer in Uganda. This will be an amazing chance for me to learn about international development and expand my world view; and I hope that I will be able to support this community in this time of rebuilding and transition.

Without your help, this volunteer opportunity would not be possible.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have further questions about the projects or my travel plans for this summer. This is a unique opportunity which I am privileged to take advantage of. I look forward to sharing my stories and experiences when I return to Canada.

Sincerely,

Melissa Armbruster
m_armbr@live.concordia.ca
514-622-3586

Gulu Town - taken by former CVAPers