Fundraising for Hope for Children is off to a tremendous start!

Today I would like to share my appreciation for the support I am getting from the people of northeast PA with you.

The Kiwanis Club of Bloomsburg donated $1000 to Hope for Children following a presentation that my son Ben and I did for them last November. Kiwanis has always sponsored programs for children throughout the world and I am so pleased to have their support.

All About Singles in Wilkes-Barre has decided that they will reach out to HFC in many different ways. In just the first month of their efforts they have sponsored two children for a whole year, have collected over $600 from individual members, and are planning a picnic for northeast PA singles in early May. (More information on that after I get back.)

A close personal friend has donated the funds for my plane ticket. A colleague and her husband’s family donated significantly to the EMDR-HAP Ethiopia fund at Christmas.

And even though our Dance for Hope was cancelled, I received over $200 in donations for the fall training in Addis-Ababa from local community members and friends.

In addition, Kelly Bates, a senior music major at Bucknell University who spent last summer volunteering at HFC, organized a concert for the public in Lewisburg a few weeks ago. Five different a cappella groups from the University preformed at the Campus Theater for over 300 people. I was amazed by the talent and the creativity of the musicians and the variety of songs the groups sang. Kelly raised more than $1100 for HFC’s Youth Center.

My trip is now less than three weeks away and my office is overflowing with piles of training manuals, art supplies, toys, glasses, equipment and so much more that I am hoping will fit into the two large suitcases I am allowed to bring on the plane. Every moment seems to be taken up with preparation, especially for the workshops that I will be teaching. March 18th is coming faster than I expected and my anticipation is rising.

Thanks to everyone for all the support and good wishes!
Dorothy

"Ready, Steady, Go"

Little did I know this fall that in less than six months, I would be planning my first psycological training in Ethiopia.

On September 2, 2008, I received an email from Yewoinshet Masresha, founder and director of Hope For Children-Ethiopia, responding to my inquirey about recycled eyeglasses for the HFC children, staff and care-takers. Realizing that I was a psychologist, her affirmative response was followed by a request for more psychological training for herself and her staff.

My first thought was to contact the EMDR-Humanitarian Assistance Program, an organization that focuses on training therapists in crisis situations or in under-served communities or countries to treat trauma using EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing).

While Bob Gelbach, HAP's Executive Director and I began our discussions on setting up an EMDR training in Ethiopia sometime in the upcoming year, an unexpected opportunity arose in Nairobi. Thanks to a generous donation from a close friend of mine, Yewoinshet and one of her therapists, Zebenay, flew to Kenya in mid-November and completed EMDR Level 1 training (pictured above).

Now that Yewoinshet and Zebenay have returned to Addis Ababa and have begun using EMDR with some of the children, I am in the process of setting up periodic consultation with them via the Internet. Time differences and the undependable nature of Ethiopian Internet services are making this a challenging goal.

My goals for the upcoming year fall into three areas:

1. Organizing and funding an EMDR Level 1 training in Addis Ababa for approximately 25 Ethiopian therapists sometime during the fall of 2009. Preparation for this will begin during a trip I am taking to Ethiopia this February to teach the preliminary " Traumatology and Stabilization" workshop to potential participants and to find an appropriate training location.

2. Researching and filming two 5-hour training videos on Play Therapy in conjunction with Paul R. White, LCSW that will focus on techniques and equipment applicable to the Ethiopian culture and economy.

3. The collection, labeling and transportation of recycled eyeglasses to the members of the HFC community, as well as financial support for an optometrist to attend to the visual needs of the community.

Future blogs will keep you abreast of my progress on all three projects. I would love to hear from any of you regarding ideas you may have for fund raising or advancing any of these programs.

Thanks,
Dorothy