The Kelley's Quest: April 2011

Belize Bound!!

As a part of Sarah's residency, there is an opportunity for her to travel abroad and practice medicine internationally. We've been researching various locations for the last few months and fell upon an organization called Hillside Health Care International, based in the Central American country of Belize.

Sarah liked their rotation for training health care providers and on a whim, inquired about possibly bringing along her multi-talented but non-health professional spouse. Surprisingly, they agreed! In fact, they are in desperate need of some larger scale construction projects to be completed and are very excited to have David for a whole month. It seems like the biggest project is to build a gated enclosure to the clinic property. Currently, it is completely open and unable to be secured after hours. Also on the list is a ceiling in one of their common rooms and a storage shed. Surely more projects will crop up as the month progresses.
As for Sarah, she is ecstatic about the opportunity to finally experience what it's like to practice medicine in a developing nation. The elective is pretty structured in that Hillside accepts up to 4 medical students/residents per month and focuses on exposing them to international medicine. Many days will be spent in the clinic seeing patients, while several days a week the medical crew takes day trips through the jungle in jeeps and by foot to local villages to see patients. It should be an eye-opening experience.
The best part of the whole trip is that we get to go together! One of the things that brought us together as a couple was the fact that we both have a strong desire to travel abroad and help others. We have HUGE dreams for what that might look like for us in the future and see this as wonderful opportunity to get our feet wet in international missions.
We plan to keep this blog going throughout our travels and keep you, our friends and family, up to date on our adventures. We will appreciate your prayers as we prepare to travel. We will have many expenses coming up. Specifically, travel expenses and tuition for the month long trip will cost around $3500. We will have free housing for the month, but will be responsible for meals and other incidentals. If you would like to help us get there, we have a couple of different options. Tax deductible cash or check donations are hugely beneficial and much appreciated. In addition, below you will find information for some handmade items for sale that you can purchase, eligible for tax deduction. Lastly, donation of items such as large bottles of tylenol, ibuprofen, or vitamins, toothpaste and toothbrushes (among other items).
Thanks for reading about what we've got going on. For more information about Hillside, check out www.hillsidebelize.com
Love,
David and Sarah Kelley

Fundraising for Belize-Beaded Necklaces

My wonderful neighbor makes handmade beaded jewelry and wanted to contribute to our upcoming trip. Below are some photos of the jewelry that she donated for me to sell. Prices and descriptions below. Contact me at skelley1@health.usf.edu if you find one you are interested in. Make sure you check out the baby blankets in the post below! :)
No need for a blanket or a nice piece of jewelry but still want to help? We are accepting donations of any size. All contributions are tax deductible and much appreciated! Thanks!

Cobalt Blue
37 inches long, toggle clasp closure
$15

Yellow Green Neclace and Earring Set
Pewter accents, toggle clasp closure
18 inches long
$20

Yellow/Green Twist chain with white, green and pink glass heart pendant
18 inches long, box clasp closure
$15

Three strand cobalt blue/white with flower clear glass pendant
(flower colors are cobalt, white and reddish orange)
18 inches long, traditional lobster clasp closure
$15

Yellow/Amber and clear bead
38 inches long, toggle clasp closure
$15

Aqua/Cerulean blue four strand with Silver Flower pendant
18 inches long, magnetic closure
$15

Gold, blue and green double strand
40 inches long, box clasp closure
$15

Toggle closure example

Fundraising for Belize-Baby Blankets

David and I are headed to Belize for the month of July! David's going to be building ceilings, gates and other miscellaneous projects while I will be working in a local clinic seeing patients. We need to raise a minimum of $3500 by the end of May. As a means of raising some funds I have made a bunch of my specialty baby shower item: the fleece tie blanket! Everyone loves them and they are the PERFECT size for that little newborn. They work fantastically over a baby carrier and are small enough to fit easily into the diaper bag. Finished size is approximately 21 inches by 28 inches. Below are some pictures of the various styles available. They are $20 each and will ship easily. I've got a couple of unisex options as well. If you find one you like, give me a shout. Also, your purchase can be tax deductible if you would like. If you aren't in the market for a baby blanket but would still like to help us get to Belize, donations are welcome and much appreciated. Thanks!
skelley1@health.usf.edu