Apr 20

Written by:
4/20/2011 7:59 AM 

Quite literally, the desks, tables, books, chairs, bookcases, blackboards and various other school furnishings have crossed thousands of miles: starting in Silver Spring, Maryland in 2008; moving to and being stored in Ontario, New York from 2009-2010; and ultimately arriving in Narok, Kenya in 2011. It has been an amazing journey in every sense of the word: physically, emotionally, metaphorically, even spiritually. For me, it is hard to resist pointing to the many hearts and hands that made this happen.

My sister, Kady, and her husband, Mark Glueck, rescued the items from a school that had closed in their neighborhood in Maryland, and housed them in two storage units for several months there, knowing that the Jubilee School could certainly use them, and trying to figure out how we could get them to Kenya.  After numerous outreach efforts to other charities that occasionally send container shipments to Africa, we concluded that given the sizeable load we would send, we would require our own independent shipment.  The storage costs were mounting, although Kady and Mark did not burden our Charity with them, but Fr. Symon suggested that he had plenty of space in the basement of the Rectory and Church center where he was ministering, about 400 miles away in Ontario, New York.

In the winter months of 2009, dear friends of Kady & Mark's, the Vo brothers, Lam and Dung, former Vietnamese refugees to this country in 1989 (when they were children) and now proud, employed US citizens who never fail to give generously of their time and talent, eagerly volunteered to drive two very large truckloads of furniture, after moving it TO and FROM the storage units, to Upstate New York, where Fr. Symon lived, among a community of remarkably generous parishioners.

That arrival prompted Fr. Symon to make the first of several calls for volunteers among the good people of Ontario, Sodus and Sodus Point, New York to assist with the unloading of the truck and storage of the furnishings in the Parish/Rectory basement and center.  Despite the brisk temperatures (it was winter in Upstate New York, a time when 'brisk' is an understatement to be sure) many of the kind hearted turned out to make the effort seem both easy and manageable!  Not only were they generous with their time and good natured about the task at hand...they were capable and quite good movers! How lucky we were once again!

The time consuming process of seeking proper and cost efficient transportation to Kenya continued, with Kady, Fr. Symon and I exploring more options, contacting more fellow charities and seeking counsel on how best to proceed.  In the course of this, my husband, Dave Whalen, mentioned to a golf partner and friend of his, Nick Cioe, the shipment issues and questions of cost.  Now it was Nick who would come to the rescue!

First, let me say, that Nick is a great golfer. (Beyond that distinction, he also mentored my son, Emmett, by engaging him regularly as his caddy; a mother's dream: constructive employment for her teenage son.)  But I digress. More importantly, from this blog's perspective, Nick, is one of the principals of Liberty International Inc., an international shipping company headquartered in Rhode Island, and also a very thoughtful, generous person.  Nick offered to help our Charity, by enlisting people at his company, to help decipher the customs rules and regulations in Kenya for us and determine the cost of shipping, door to door, of the school furnishings from Ontario, New York to Narok, Kenya. In addition to that critical help, he volunteered his company's professional expertise of arranging and procuring international shipping (the basis of Liberty's business and income) free of charge to us, as a charitable donation!  This was huge.  In light of that, we would be able to justify the transportation costs alone, given that the value to the Jubilee School of the shipment exceeded those costs, and we would not be burdened with additional professional costs customary in a shipment like ours. Wow, we were blessed yet again!

In the meantime, the Jubilee School continued to build and expand its campus (among our donors, some more Rhode Islanders to thank for that: The Creamer Family for the Dining and Activity Hall; and The Sgarro Family for Two Teacher's Houses) and therefore now had ample space to house the furnishings: using many of the tables and chairs in the Dining Hall and safely store the remaining desks for the future grades temporarily in the houses. Also, the complete library of books for elementary school children, already catalogued and ready to borrow, can line the walls of the Dining and Activity Hall, just an arm's reach away for the students' enjoyment.

Back at Liberty International Inc., we were introduced to Peter Bogutt and eventually Cathy Nardi, who would shepherd us through the international waters (and seas of required documents.)  Peter was our initial contact, who very kindly helped us to understand what the logistics and cost would be. Eventually, when we felt we were ready to go forward with the shipment and try to time its arrival with when Fr. Symon could be present in Kenya, should his intervention become necessary, we were introduced to Cathy, who would be our primary Liberty connection to the shipment and its adventures here and abroad!  She graciously answered our many e-mails and calls, steering us ever so gently toward the Port of Mombasa, Kenya, from Ontario, New York, via inspections, and more inspections, winter weather delays, the Port Authority of New York and onward. Here was a Guardian angel, whose calm, steady oversight, kept us thankfully on a very even keel!

In order to get to where we were going with the shipment, however, Fr. Symon had to prevail once again upon his parishioners for more of their capable moving skills AND unfailing good humor. We sounded a false alarm for help once or twice in December, during the run up to Christmas, (because of course, it would seem that is when everyone is busiest...and this winter...snowed under!) but delays beyond our control pushed the eventual container loading date to January, 2011, when, once again, the cheerful, dedicated, extremely understanding and kind-hearted parishioners (of  St. Maximillian Kolbe Parish, a/k/a St. Mary's, St. Rose and Church of the Epiphany) turned up in the January cold.  And as the old saying humorously goes, "no good deed goes unpunished."  This time, it would seem because they so ably moved everything IN, they were now challenged by cost consequences if the entire container was not loaded within two hours of arrival!  Well, this generous crowd...who if you look at some of the photos in our gallery of that January moving day...are not going to be accused of breaking child labor laws...got that container loaded in an hour and a half!  They were not only amazing, cost conscious (perhaps middle aged) but awe inspiring!  Their energy and enthusiasm could only be matched by their incredible generosity of time and spirit. The blessings continued to pour forth. 

So the shipment was off on January 26, 2011 from Ontario, New York, (the Real Upstate New York)  to its first stop, a fumigation depot (the things one learns!)... and eventually on to its last stop, East Africa, at the Fr. Symon Jubilee School in Narok, Kenya.  The question was...When will it get there?

On March 24, 2011, it arrived at the Kenyan port city of Mombasa. We heard from Cathy Nardi at Liberty that it had arrived and was waiting to be cleared through customs. Liberty continued the process of customs clearance and reassured us with their professional expertise and contacts in Kenya.  Periodic updates from Cathy and various calls by Fr. Symon to his niece, Grace, who is aptly named for her helpful assistance and willingness to stand in on Fr. Symon's behalf, kept us informed and free of additional or excess storage charges (a serious and costly hazard we could not afford.)  After several matters that needed to be addressed and a small customs charge, we were cleared and released from the Nairobi depot, where the container had been taken and fully inspected.

Last Saturday, April 16, 2011, the container shipment arrived at the Jubilee School full of all the donated items that had been loaded on to it.  It was quickly and efficiently unloaded by the workers that were anticipating its arrival and the empty container was on its way back to the Nairobi depot within a couple of hours.  Hurray!  Thank you one and all for the many hours dedicated to this endeavor...we couldn't have done it without you.

The children are home on break and not at the school, as it is in between 1st and 2nd terms.  They will be back the first week of May.  Can you imagine what they will think when they see yet another transformation in their 'new school?'  Don't you wish you could see their faces?  I do because I know how delighted they will be by the 'fancy' tables and chairs, the fully furnished Dining Hall...and those library books!  Another journey complete.  Another chapter in their improbable journey toward a wonderful elementary education.  Another example of how the community of our donors, from all over the United States, is helping to make a difference in the lives of children they don't know, who are in turn, through our joined journey, making a difference in ours.

Asante sana!