|
Ebenso Update 31st August 2010 Dear Praying Friends Did you enjoy your long weekend (England and Wales)? I think were quite blessed with good weather in most places. Amazing how we have had grotty weather for most of the time while the kids have been off school - they go back tomorrow and the sun decides comes out!!! I had a good time celebrating with Kanetochukwu who turned 1 on Saturday. We both enjoyed her chocolate birthday cake J For the rest of the week and until Monday I shall be up in Scotland. I am working with TLM Scotland and then having a lovely weekend with Linda, Ros and Carletto at Pittenweem. I have checked the weather forecast and it is good! I have treated myself to a new cagoule (a bargain in the sales!) though, just in case! I wonder if I need the midge repellent too? J Please pray for the meeting on Thursday with development organisations, that we will be able to encourage them to put disability (and leprosy) on their development agenda. Pray too for the prayer event tomorrow evening, that there will be plenty of people there who are ready to pray with and for The leprosy Mission. Linda has asked me to prepare a short devotion to start the prayer event. I have finished the first draft of the evaluation report (in English), and it is now with Eric and Stefan for comments before I finalise it. Once finalised, I will need to translate it into French too. Many of the people who need to see it do not read English. Please pray that the finalising and translation goes well. Please continue to pray for the planning for the next 5 years in Guinea. Plans for my trip to South Africa are going well. I received me e-ticket today. I shall be flying from Heathrow on 10th September and returning 24th September (overnight, so I land 25th). Please pray that the trainings go well. It is difficult to keep leprosy on the agenda in countries like South Africa where there are fewer and fewer cases each year. Thank God for the work that peter Laubscher and his team are doing out there. Bassey is doing well in Nigeria. He has finished the interviews in the first community and is now in the second community. Please continue to pray for safety and good health for him. We are able to communicate by SMS now and then and very occasionally we are able to speak, but the network is not too good. Please remember June Nash who flies to China on Friday for a country review. Pray for our country leader in China Yuek Ming Poon who is arranging everything. URGENT: Please pray for Emmanuel, our driver from Bas Congo East (Dr Congo), who lost his left leg below knee in a motor cycle accident. From Angelika Piefer: “He is still in hospital, I saw him last week during a brief visit to Bas Congo. He was happy with the crutches, he learned fast how to be mobile again and he started essential exercises. This changed his face from an old man to someone who could smile and laugh again! He will have to face challenges at home, as a toilet and shower needs to be built. Pray also for continuing team support and that ALL will understand that he will be able to work again... His wife with 7 children finds it also difficult to cope at times.”€ Thank you for your continued prayer. Jannine Jannine Ebenso Global Disability Adviser The Leprosy Mission International 80 Windmill Road, Brentford, Middlesex, TW8 0QH Mobile: +44(0)7521551721 +44(0)7521551721 SKYPE: jannine.ebenso2008 Email:JannineE@tlmint.org Ebenso Update 8th August 2010 Dear Praying Friends Our house looks like an airport transit lounge! I arrived back in Leeds from London yesterday with one small suitcase and had one other small suitcase ready for Guinea. I then realised with all the books and training stuff, it won’t fit in, so I have changed to a medium suitcase. Everything did fit in the small case except the flip chart (A1)! It all fits in the medium one now. Thankfully with the warm temps, my clothes are light ad pack very small. J Anyway, I now have room to carry letters and parcels from the missionaries in Guinea on my way back. I am actually allowed 2 cases, but I try to avoid that unless it is necessary. More than one suitcase attracts attention at customs. I was hoping that with a small case I could even avoid hold baggage, but not with the medium one. I am all checked in online and will go over to mum’s tonight and sleep there as she lives near to Manchester airport. I can reach the airport in 30 minutes by taxi from her house. I have sent an email to the Mission guest house managers in Conakry letting them know my arrival time (1815H) and by God’s grace I shall be safely there tomorrow night after an uneventful night. I am flying from Manchester at 0940 tomorrow with AF via Paris CDG and then on to Conakry. I shall be there overnight and then we drive the 800km to Macenta where I shall stay until 18th when I return to Conakry. I meet with the Minister of Health and then I fly out 20th evening, arriving back in Manchester 21st August. Please pray for the evaluation. We have a new methodology which I am not used to. Lots of participatory learning and action tools to use. I would have loved a practice first in English before doing it in French, but I am sure that Stefan and the team in Macenta will help me when I get stuck. I used the Waterstones’ gift voucher from my birthday to buy a French dictionary - the one I use in the office is massive and VERY heavy, so I needed a lighter paperback one. It is now safely in my hand luggage. I would rather lose my clothes than my dictionary! Bassey got out his suitcase today as well, as he leaves next weekend and there were some books to transfer from the London suitcase to the Nigeria suitcase! We have to be careful that we put the right things in the right case!! He leaves on 15th August by BA from Manchester via Heathrow and on to Abuja (arriving early 16th). So far he has books and a laptop in the case - not for him, but for people in Nigeria who have requested them. We feel like a couple of couriers! So, today is our last day together for some time! We will see each other next sometime in late October in Nigeria as I will join Bassey there for the Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) conference and a short holiday before we both return on 29th October. That is all, the suitcases and the M62 are beckoning! I shall write again when I return from Guinea and hopefully include a photo or two. PLEASE DO NOT PHONE ME WHEN I AM IN GUINEA AS IT IS VERY EXPENSIVE! (FOR YOU AND FOR ME!) BASSEY’S PHONE WILL NOT WORK IN NIGERIA SO DON’T PHONE HIM EITHER! HIS EMAIL ADDRESS WILL WORK THOUGH. Blessings Jannine I will be out of the office and away from internet connection 7th - 24th August. Jannine Ebenso Global Disability Adviser The Leprosy Mission International 80 Windmill Road, Brentford, Middlesex, TW8 0QH Mobile: +44(0)7521551721 +44(0)7521551721 SKYPE: jannine.ebenso2008 Email:JannineE@tlmint.org
Ebenso Update 29th June 2010 Dear Friends Sorry, the silence was longer than anticipated! Bassey’s trip to USA was successful. He was able to make very useful contacts with other disability studies researchers. His presentation was well received he said. He had a great time with Natasha and the children. My holiday in Minehead was just what the doctor ordered. On the whole we had good weather and it was possible to go out and about most days. Since the beginning of June there have been so many meetings, most of which were in London. Country leaders from all TLM countries were in Brentford and we had good discussions about the issues facing us as a Mission at present. Please pray for the country leaders as they go back and disseminate what they have learned. Since the main meetings have finished we have been following up the issues raised. My main work at the moment is to move on with the Operations manual. June is coordinating the manual, and we are pleased to be in the ‘home straight’ with that. We hope to have it all done ready for sending to the country leaders by August.Pray for us as we have a lot of things to finish off. Bassey is working hard in preparation for the next phase of his data collection. He will be going back to Nigeria ? August. (Date not yet confirmed). Pray for the things he needs to do before hand – risk assessment, questionnaire editing, ethics approval, contacting research assistants, etc). Today is the ‘Project Approval Group’ (PAG). Geeske and I will attend (by Skype) to defend the Chad project proposal that we have revised. We are both rather nervous so please pray. The time we expect to be called is 11am (UK time). Tonight is the barbecue for the Homework Club at church - typically it is raining (after 2 weeks of glorious sunshine!) Please pray that the rain will dry up this afternoon so that the kids can enjoy the fresh air and so that our sausages don’t set off the smoke alarms in the church kitchen!!! Tomorrow I am speaking at a ladies’ meeting in Leeds. Pray that I can encourage them to continue to support the work of The Leprosy Mission. We are delighted to have new neighbours - Obi and Tochi (Nigerian). They have recently moved in just across the road. Tochi joined us at Bible study last Tuesday and we hope they will continue to fellowship with us. They are coming for dinner on Thursday evening. Obi is also a PhD student like Bassey. He is a pharmacist by profession. That is all for now. Blessings Jannine Jannine Ebenso Global Disability Adviser The Leprosy Mission International 80 Windmill Road, Brentford, Middlesex, TW8 0QH Mobile: +44(0)7521551721 +44(0)7521551721 SKYPE: jannine.ebenso2008 Email:JannineE@tlmint.org
Ebenso Update 24th May 2010 Dear Friends Sorry that last week’s mail reached you late. I did send it on May 17th as it was dated, but because of a problem with our mail server it was sitting in the system for a few days before it went out. Just a short one this week. Bassey travels to USA tomorrow (God willing). He has a BA ticket, but the flight is operated by American Airlines, so we are not sure if the strike affects it. At the moment there is no news that the flight is cancelled so he is packing in faith. Pray that he has a safe journey and has a successful conference. Pray for Niger - starving people are crossing the Niger/ Nigeria border into Sokoto and Katsina states to find food. Many if them have family and friends across the border, but the folk in Northern Nigeria do not have much to spare themselves, so it is a very difficult situation. Pray for Geeske who is now back in Chad. She arrived in Mongo on Friday and has been inundated with visitors who are so glad to see her back. Pray for the TLMI Audit committee which meets tomorrow (25th) and the TLMI Board which meets 26th - 29th May, both in London. Thank you for all the birthday cards/texts/Skypes/FB posts/emails/phone calls. Overwhelming. Such a lot of love form you all. I have almost finished my essay. The final draft is ready for Bassey to read through before he travels tomorrow. I hope that any final editing can be completed by tomorrow so I can submit it and relax for my holidays J On that note, there will be no update next week as I am away and have no access to the internet. I shall be in touch again from 7th June. Hope you are enjoying the sun? J Here’s hoping is stays next week when we are in Minehead! Jannine I am on holiday from 26th May to 6th June. I will not have access to my emails during this time. I am in meetings from 7th-18th June, I will have limited access to emails during this time. Jannine Ebenso Global Disability Adviser The Leprosy Mission International 80 Windmill Road, Brentford, Middlesex, TW8 0QH Mobile: +44(0)7521551721 SKYPE: jannine.ebenso2008 Email:JannineE@tlmint.org
|