Adrienne Posted March 24, 2012 Report Share Posted March 24, 2012 The final countdown is on. Two weeks tomorrow we head off overseas. :happy2: We've finished our vaccinations, have had tetanus boosters, HepA & B, Yellow fever, Typhoid, Cholera, and Influenza. We have 10 weeks of malaria tablets per person to take and have an extensive travel first aid kit which includes needles, syringes and tablets for every type of gastro issue plus insect repellent and hand sanitiser. First stopover is Kuala Lumpur for 15 hours, then on to Zimbabwe via Bangkok, Nairobi, Johannesberg airports. After Zimbabwe comes Kenya where we will travel to the northeast shores of Lake Victoria and then head west towards the border to visit our sponsored child. On return, via the Rift Valley and Lake Nukuru, to Nairobi nearly a week later we will be assisting in some ophanages. Then on to Zanzibar, Tanzania and Rwanda. At this stage only my husbands visa permission to go into Rwanda has been granted - not sure why there is a delay on mine. After 5 weeks in Africa we head to London, then France to collect our Eurolease car (was going to purchase a BMW motorcycle but due to my hip replacement it is no longer an option). We will trip through France, Germany, Switzerland and Italy using the back roads before heading to Spain. We depart Barcelona at the end of June. We are so looking forward to this trip. On the downside, or is it the upside, I have had to resign from my job as they would not grant my leave however this will be a trip of a life time. For those of you who think you may know what it is like in Africa - we received a letter from our sponsored child and his family saying how happy they were that we were coming and that we would like to bring him a gift. He asked for one of the following items - a blanket, a pair of sheets, a soccer ball or an english dictionary. If we wanted to bring the family a gift instead of him he asked if we could bring either rice, sugar, wheat flour, bathing soap or tea leaves! It just shows how thankful we should be that we live here in NZ. I will keep you updated and post pictures etc on here when there is internet available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Li@m Posted March 24, 2012 Report Share Posted March 24, 2012 Oh i need to get that tank back to you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cricketman Posted March 24, 2012 Report Share Posted March 24, 2012 I'd love to go back to Zimbabwe... Don't want to see how my childhood home/playground has become though... :facepalm: Sounds like an amazing trip though! Lots and Lots of photos to come I bet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted March 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2012 Oh i need to get that tank back to you I sent you a pm Liam, basically if you are still using it or want to keep hold of it (your parents don't mind an extra tank being there) then you can return it in July, otherwise next weekend would be good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheepsnana Posted March 24, 2012 Report Share Posted March 24, 2012 He asked for one of the following items - a blanket, a pair of sheets, a soccer ball or an english dictionary. If we wanted to bring the family a gift instead of him he asked if we could bring either rice, sugar, wheat flour, bathing soap or tea leaves! Imagine the look on their face if you brought the whole list :thup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted March 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2012 Imagine the look on their face if you brought the whole list :thup: We will certainly be taking more than the one thing. Our only restriction is that we have a 15kg pp baggage allowance on the internal flight from Nairobi to the nearest town to his settlement. However, we can always pick up some basic supplies there if they have them. We have been told is that when we go over there we are not to give our sponsored child more than $5. Apparently if you do so it can upset the family as if you give them $10 or more that is likely to be the equivalent to the years income earned by the parents. The boys here at Dilworth, where my husband works have been fundraising for over a year so we will be taking what is considered to be a lot with us. So apart from our child, we will give a little money to the family and the rest will go to the village fund. Our bags are filling up already as we are also taking over vitamins and a laptop for the gentleman who runs three big orphanages over there. His son who was born nearly 3 months premature (now 5 months old) has rickets and requires vitamins which cost too much for them to buy. I will be off to the chemist tomorrow to see what they suggest as the best and most viable option (something that will provide the most long term benefits). We are also hoping to locate our previous sponsored child who left the settlement when he turned 18, he is now about 25. Whether this is possible, we are not sure but we are definitely going to try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamC Posted March 24, 2012 Report Share Posted March 24, 2012 His son who was born nearly 3 months premature (now 5 months old) has rickets and requires vitamins which cost too much for them to buy. I will be off to the chemist tomorrow to see what they suggest as the best and most viable option (something that will provide the most long term benefits). Rickets is treated with sunshine. The maximum the chemist can sell you is 1000IU per capsule ( health supplement ). The adult tablets are 50,000IU per tablet and are only available on prescription. Cheapest oral option is to take some cod liver oil with you which is 400IU per teaspoon. But really, sunshine is the treatment. If the infant has rickets, the mother most likely needs treating as well. For an adult, 20 mins of whole body sun exposure will generate 20,000IU of D3 in that part of the world. Longer exposure will not generate any more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophia Posted March 24, 2012 Report Share Posted March 24, 2012 I wouldn't have thought lack of sunshine would be an issue in Africa or am I making an obviously ignorant comment? I have heard that story about old england where kids in orphanages with rickets were being given oranges to suck on for Vitamin C :dunno: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted March 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2012 I suspect apart from being prem that this (see below) is part of the problem Infants who are breastfed only may develop vitamin D deficiency. Human breast milk does not supply the proper amount of vitamin D. This can be a particular problem for darker-skinned children. Not getting enough calcium and phosphorous in your diet can also lead to rickets. Rickets caused by a lack of these minerals in diet is rare in developed countries, because calcium and phosphorous are found in milk and green vegetables. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamC Posted March 25, 2012 Report Share Posted March 25, 2012 Cases of rickets are being reported in Australia and NZ. One would think there is enough sunshine but child rearing practices have changed. One used to put babies out in the sun in their basinets but the dermatologists have put paid to that. It is recommended that breast fed children have vitamin D supplementation because mothers are usually deficient and so their breast milk lacks sufficient vitamin D. A study by a colleague in Wellington showed severe deficiency in 60% of young mothers http://journal.nzma.org.nz/journal/119-1241/2144/ in a practice that had reported 10 cases of rickets over the previous 3 years. I published a paper the year before showing deficiency in a clinic population in central NZ. I would assume that this infant is being breast fed. Infant formulae contain vitamin D, calcium etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted March 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2012 Breast fed for sure. Given the average yearly income is $730 and the cost of formula is 84% of that, I doubt many can afford to give formula to their children. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted March 25, 2012 Report Share Posted March 25, 2012 When our son was in Greenlane for heart surgery, 30 years ago, there were a number of other children with heart problems who also had rickets. We were told rickets was a common problem among the maori and Pacific Island population, due to poor diet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamC Posted March 25, 2012 Report Share Posted March 25, 2012 When our son was in Greenlane for heart surgery, 30 years ago, there were a number of other children with heart problems who also had rickets. We were told rickets was a common problem among the maori and Pacific Island population, due to poor diet. Since 95% or more of vitamin D is derived from sunshine, you were misinformed. But ignorance of vitamin D metabolism was quite common then amongst medical professionals. That state has changed for the better in the last few years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted March 25, 2012 Report Share Posted March 25, 2012 I should hope so! We were horrified to discover rickets was so common in Auckland as we thought it was a third world disease. As Auckland is not that lacking in sunshine, and maori and Pacific Islanders are not known for keeping children out of the sun, why were so many suffering from rickets? Do they have higher breast feeding rates? From memory, it was the rickets that caused the heart problems in these children. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamC Posted March 25, 2012 Report Share Posted March 25, 2012 It's a disease of industrial countries and not 3rd world countries. And cultural issues are also important. Wearing a burqa is incompatible with D3 sufficiency so deficiency is common in places such as Saudi Arabia too. As for why PIs and Maori are more susceptible to D3 deficiency, darker skin is one reason, but more likely the kids are just not going outside to play anymore. Rickits is a metabolic bone disease. Severe D3 deficiency can cause heart failure from muscle disease but I suspect those kids were victims of rheumatic fever which is definitely a 3rd world disease! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted March 25, 2012 Report Share Posted March 25, 2012 It's exposure to sunlight early in the morning is it not? Perhaps the lack adequate diet reduced the body's metabolism of Vit D derived from Sunlight? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamC Posted March 25, 2012 Report Share Posted March 25, 2012 No, not morning. UVB is strongest at mid day when the sun's rays take the shortest path through the atmosphere. Which is why it is advised that you don't go out in the mid day sun in case you burn. But that is the time for maximum synthesis of D3. So, I think it is recommended you get your exposure at 10 am or thereabouts to get a balance of not being quickly burnt, and getting enough D3. The time you spend outside without protection depends on your skin colour. And for about 4 months of the year you can spend the whole day outside naked and still not make any D3 due to the sun's rays path through the sky being much lower and therefore longer resulting in loss of energetic photons. Diet will not have any influence of the synthesis of D3 which is a photolytic phenomenon, and there's no shortage of 7-dehydrocholesterol. And to make this relevant to this forum, I believe fish get their D3 from eating krill or from those that eat krill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted March 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2012 And to make this relevant to this forum, I believe fish get their D3 from eating krill or from those that eat krill.\\ Its alright GrahamC - this is in the offtopic section anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Li@m Posted March 25, 2012 Report Share Posted March 25, 2012 You could buy the village a Goat. And ill hang on to the tank untill you get back and try breed some fish. Enjoy your trip. :thup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted March 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2012 The family had a lamb which was stolen one night last November. We will see what we can do with the funds we are taking there. It needs to be something that will provide the most sustainable value. I am not stupid enough to think us goingthere is going to be of massive benefit unless we can provide something that will be long lasting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheepsnana Posted March 25, 2012 Report Share Posted March 25, 2012 Memories of short term happiness are still long lasting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamC Posted March 25, 2012 Report Share Posted March 25, 2012 Hard to know what to suggest without an understanding of the situation. I've only contributed to things like village water wells. In days gone by I would have suggested books. But these days a second hand ebook reader can be loaded with 100s of books and weighs nothing. Cost and a way to keep it charged might be an issue though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted March 30, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2012 Now only 8 full days left in NZ. Our list of 'must do before we leave' things is, fortunately, growing smaller. We have sourced all the bits and pieces to take as gifts. I've done a test pack to see how much I can get in my bag and have discovered its way roomier than I thought. On internal flights in Africa our luggage limit is 15kg but I can get the weight down to that once I offload a lot of things in Kenya. Vodafone told us that global roaming is available everywhere except Tanzania and is free as long as we have enough on prepay. Years ago there was a downpayment which was extra to the prepay fee so thats all good. Am about to source suitable travel adaptors to take with us. I've located a good site and it appears two different ones may well cover us for the entire time. On the downside my letter giving me permission to obtain a visa in Rwanda is still missing in action. My husbands arrived two weeks ago. We have had to reapply again today. Lets hope it doesn't take too long! I'm very excited now but at the same time surprisedly nervous. Hate to think what I will be like by the time next Sunday rolls around! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted March 30, 2012 Report Share Posted March 30, 2012 Enjoy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cricketman Posted March 31, 2012 Report Share Posted March 31, 2012 Tanzania/Kenya are probably the safest places in Africa, and are absolutely amazing. Have to say I'm a slight jealous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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