Summer Nursing Internship in Africa! Need Help!

zolensky · Apr 8, 2011

I don't know how you can get more donations but I grew up in Kenya and have friends and family there if you need some local help. Its a beautiful country and good luck getting there. PM me if you are interested in some names and numbers there.

sweet_b · Apr 8, 2011

Wow! That's amazing, congratulations!!

heathert_kc · Apr 8, 2011

My husbands from Kenya, and we plan on going back for some medical missionary work once we both finish school and get settled. I have never had to raise outside money for such a thing, I think everything that you have said are all good ideas. Perhaps even talking with your employer, I know my place of employment did something like that for one of our nurses who went to Domionican Republic. You also might want to ask the company that offers this program if they have any scholarships, or know of any from outside sources. My other advice would be go and get your passport NOW, June is less than two months away. The people at the post office will quote you six to eight weeks before it is processed and you receive it, often it take less time than that, but I wouldn't want to be a week from departure and wondering/hoping it was going to come in time. I might even suggest you go today, because if this whole government shut down is allowed to occur there will be a back log of applications. I also think that you may be under estimating your financial needs, as you might want to consult with your physician/health department and/or the CDC website to see what vaccines that you might need, for instance I am a few years older than you but I was never require to have Hep B, also there are lots of vaccine that are common place in Kenya and highly recommended that you never get living in the US because those disease don't, or rarely occur here, like yellow fever. Such vaccines may be offered at your local health department, the one issue is that they are rarely covered by insurance as they are not necessary for most people.

Good luck.

Anisettes, BSN, RN · Apr 8, 2011

Congratulations! Sounds like an awesome experience for you. You asked about what companies you could contact - not sure if they would donate but I'd suggest you make inquires to companies that make/sell medical supplies like Baxter, Kimberly-Clark, 3M, Medline, Johnson&Johnson, etc...

You could also query nursing journals AJN, Nursing 20111, etc...

Have you also considered your local radio or TV stations? ZOLENSKI's offer is wonderful, take him/her up on it. Good luck and have a great experience.

oaktown2 · Apr 8, 2011

What I have always heard regarding fundraising is ask, ask, ask. Ask everyone you know. You never know when your cause is going to resonate with someone. You can't just ask once and assume that if someone didn't respond, they don't want to give. (I have seen ask requests from my friends and I know that I will give, but I just haven't gotten around to it.) Last year when I was raising funds for a similar type of trip, I did a 7 day fundraising effort on FB, where I said, I'm raising money over the next 7 days and posted that every 2 days or so. (Probably should have posted it every day.) And then my requests through FB were done and I had collected donations. June can still feel like a ways off for people, so you need to give them a reason to give now. Don't forget to ask any professionals who you give business to on a regular basis. If you want some more ideas, I can probably find some fundraising tips from some other events that I did - pm me. Good luck! Sounds like a great experience!

PatMac10,RN, RN · Apr 8, 2011

My husbands from Kenya, and we plan on going back for some medical missionary work once we both finish school and get settled. I have never had to raise outside money for such a thing, I think everything that you have said are all good ideas. Perhaps even talking with your employer, I know my place of employment did something like that for one of our nurses who went to Domionican Republic. You also might want to ask the company that offers this program if they have any scholarships, or know of any from outside sources. My other advice would be go and get your passport NOW, June is less than two months away. The people at the post office will quote you six to eight weeks before it is processed and you receive it, often it take less time than that, but I wouldn't want to be a week from departure and wondering/hoping it was going to come in time. I might even suggest you go today, because if this whole government shut down is allowed to occur there will be a back log of applications. I also think that you may be under estimating your financial needs, as you might want to consult with your physician/health department and/or the CDC website to see what vaccines that you might need, for instance I am a few years older than you but I was never require to have Hep B, also there are lots of vaccine that are common place in Kenya and highly recommended that you never get living in the US because those disease don't, or rarely occur here, like yellow fever. Such vaccines may be offered at your local health department, the one issue is that they are rarely covered by insurance as they are not necessary for most people.
Good luck.

Thanks. I have actually already applied for my passport and visa and will be getting my vaccines soon. I only included the price for the program in the cost I mentioned. My family and I are trying to find a way to pay for my flight and such ourselves. Tickets to Africa are by no means cheap so I understand your concern, some are almost as much as my trip! Thanks for all of the advice!

pyroandbozzt · Apr 8, 2011

Oops, didn't read you'd already applied for your passport.

Good luck in Africa.

PatMac10,RN, RN · Apr 8, 2011

Oops, didn't read you'd already applied for your passport.
Good luck in Africa.

Actually you may be right. It wasn't too long ago I sent my application off. They still may not accept! Isn't that just great. The one time I'm travelling out of the country the government shuts down and I can't get my passport application processed! Gosh! I hope this mess gets straightened out soon!

pyroandbozzt · Apr 8, 2011

I know, so am I.

I'm an active duty Soldier whose only getting half pay next Friday.

Calixan · Apr 9, 2011

The whole Gov't thing is a big mess but I hope that it all gets straightened out soon. I'm sure you will have tons of fun in Kenya. I was suppose to go to the Ukraine this summer, but I am going next summer instead. Didn't want to take off work for 3 wks already. I just graduated nursing school last summer so I thought it was a lil soon to ask off for so much time. Good Luck to you! :)

honeykrown, MSN, NP · Apr 9, 2011

Funraising ideas: Your local church, bake sales, group of friends, your school, work etc