The 8th grade at Carolina Day School sorted and packed over 25,000 children’s vitamins yesterday (also Superhero/Princess Day for Spirit Week). Thanks for all the help! Do your hands still smell like vitamins…?
Vitamins for Haiti
September 30th, 2011 by tkaderabek 1 comment »Counting vitamins
September 30th, 2011 by Mission Manna No comments »> > The 8th grade a Carolina Day School sorted and packed over 25,000 children’s vitamins today (superhero/princess day for spirit week). Thanks for all the help! Do your hands still smell like vitamins?
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John Kelleher Completes 2,655 Mile Pacific Crest Trail Hike For Mission Manna
September 28th, 2011 by tkaderabek 3 comments »Dear everyone who supported the walk for Haiti,
On September 17th, I finished the Pacific Crest Trail. I camped near the
trailhead in Canada that night and I wrote my final thoughts regarding
comparisons between the trail, American society and current Haitian life.
It’s not very long but its a little too long for email. I’ll post it on
the website in a week or so and send the link, if you are interested
Meanwhile, I did post a video on YouTube of my finishing.
The link is at http://youtu.be/g3GrZGtbLsU
I really appreciate all the support, and Mission Manna will use that money
to the fullest. I ended up hiking 2,655 miles. Most people pledged 1 cent
per mile, so the total comes up to $26.55. If you pledged more, just do
the math.
Meanwhile, I’ll send you that link when I get it up here in a few days.
Take care and Ill talk to you soon,
John Kelleher
Update # 4 — John Kelleher Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail for Mission Manna
August 29th, 2011 by tkaderabek No comments »John called me Friday to tell me he was crossing the Columbia River into Washington. He was feeling good and hoping that some of the snow had melted in Washington. If all goes as planned, John should be done in 3.5 weeks and returning to Asheville shortly thereafter.
The attached pictures are of some folks he met on the trail, Crater Lake, Mount Hood, and the Columbia River.
Thank you to all of you for your continued interest and support. I know this has meant a lot to John, and to me as well! Right now, we have 76 people total who have signed up to sponsor John. If you have any friends or family who might be interested in supporting him as well, please kindly refer them to this link: http://www.southernbranches.com/helphaiti/index.htm
Update # 4 — John Kelleher Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail for Mission Manna
August 10th, 2011 by Mission Manna No comments »
Pacific Crest Trail Route Overview - Click to enlarge
John made it to Oregon!
Hello all! This is Laura. I spoke with John yesterday, and he is fired up and ready to push through Oregon! He is hiking 25-30 miles a day and thinks he will make it to Washington in about 3 weeks. His body feels good, except for some shin splints.
Help us Reach 100 Sponsors
We have 70 sponsors so far! If you can help us get to our goal of 100 sponsors by forwarding this info to your friends and family, that’d be great!
Click Here to Participate
Cheer John On with a pledge at www.southernbranches.com/helphaiti
Listen to an Audio Update from John
John talked by phone with David Bourne on August 9th, 2011. Here are some highlights:
- “How many times did you almost die today?” was the running joke in the Sierra’s snow.
- How Sean Penn and an Asheville, NC nurse inspired the journey.
- I don’t think people are really that aware of what’s going on down there (In Haiti).
- Everybody’s compassionate enough but you can’t be compassionate about something you are really not aware of.
- 1700 miles down and only 500+ to go.
- The worse winter in decades causes frozen boots and dangerous river crossings.
Photos from This Trail Section
More Updates from John
Update # 1 — The Hike Begins in Southern California
Update # 2 — 700 miles and Ready to Hit the High Sierras
Update # 3 — The Grueling Hike Through the Snow
Update # 4 — John Leaves The Snow and Reaches Oregon (with Audio)
All Updates — View as a List
Update # 3 — John Kelleher Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail for Mission Manna
July 12th, 2011 by tkaderabek 2 comments »Dear friends, family, and kind folks I have yet to meet,
I just wanted to check in and thank you for your pledges and support of
the hike for Haiti. It means a lot to me, and Mission Manna will be able
to use the funds to help the people of Haiti.
In about a week, I’ll have made it about halfway to Canada, 1325 miles. I
have had many highs and lows.
Some lows:
1) Ongoing pain. Serious blisters, knee pain, shin splints, plantar
fasciitis, Achilles tendon pain, general fatigue, eyeballs sunburned and
couldn’t see for 2 days because of snow glare, lost 17 lbs, and now
dealing with a possible stress fracture on top of my foot.
2) The snow on the entire trail is the most since 1954. I’ve had to use
ice axe and crampons a lot to cut steps on slopes, and GPS to navigate 90%
of the time since mile 700 because you cant see the trail. River fords are
dangerously fast and high because of snow melt, often up to my chest and
ropes tied to trees for safety have been used for safety. This is not
normal hiking, and it got old a long time ago.
3 ) I’m seriously homesick, miss Asheville, my dogs, and my extended family.
Some highs:
1) I’ve met lots of amazing people, friends for life, from all over the world.
2) Raw wilderness speaks to me every day. It ingrains into my head new life
lessons, and reinforces what I already knew but strayed from long ago. It
conveys its teachings in a real, legitimate language that is not spoken or
written. But somehow it sinks into my conscious and subconscious. I could
go on and on about this.
3) I have seen, heard, felt, touched, and smelled the most incredible
things. My senses are overloaded.
You Can Keep Me Going
So…. I think about quitting everyday, yet I think about how stupid it
would be to quit just as much. However, the one thing that tilts the
scales in the non-quitting direction is the fact that you guys signed up
to raise awareness and money to help Haiti. I thank you and am very
grateful for that.
I was hoping that the list of pledges would snowball, and maybe if we gave
one last ditch effort to try to convince others to sign up, we could raise
even more money. We could tell them that so far, at 1 cent per mile
pledge, it is only $13.25. If I make it to Canada, it will be only $26.50.
Click Here to Pledge Support
The simple form to sign up is at www.southernbranches.com/helphaiti, if
you forgot. Also, www.missionmanna.org is the website that explains where
the funds are going, and the situation in Haiti in general.
I might be back next week, but right now I plan to keep hobbling on. I
hope all is well.
Take care,
John
Photos from This Trail Section
More Updates from John
Update # 1 — The Hike Begins in Southern California
Update # 2 — 700 miles and Ready to Hit the High Sierras
Update # 3 — The Grueling Hike Through the Snow
Update # 4 — John Leaves The Snow and Reaches Oregon (with Audio)
All Updates — View as a List
The Mission Manna nurses who sold raffle tickets at the benefit last Friday.
June 30th, 2011 by tkaderabek No comments »
An Update From Montrouis
June 15th, 2011 by tkaderabek 1 comment »Garry Maurice and his team have been very busy of late working on our property in Montrouis. We now have only ten internally displaced persons residing there so we have a bit more room for our various Sustainable Nutrition Project initiatives.
As you can see, Garry has been training Haitians in building hutches to house the rabbits that he is using for his project. And the rabbits continue to reproduce at a steady pace so we should be able to introduce this aspect of the Sustainable Nutrition Project into the mountain town of Fond Baptiste in the next few months.
Garry has also been busy putting in various garden plots to further complement the nutrition being provided by the rabbits in Montrouis. And we have entered into a partnership with the Montrouis Tree Project to start a nursery on our property.
Finally, Garry has successfully repaired the wall around our acreage. This is important not only to keep Mission Manna assets safe but also to prevent encroachment by nearby property owners.
Overall, our land in Montrouis is in terrific shape and as a result, is now very productive and will continue to be even more so in the future.
Mesi anpil, Garry!
Update # 2 — John Kelleher Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail for Mission Manna
May 31st, 2011 by tkaderabek 3 comments »700 Mile Mark
John has nearly reached his goal of 700 miles and is getting ready to hit the High Sierras tomorrow. Apparently they are about to get record snowfall for May/June.
He is in a fair amount of pain, but its tolerable. He will be out of touch for the next 3-4 weeks. Let’s all hold him in our thoughts as he traverses this unfriendly terrain. Hope you enjoy the pictures!
Photos from This Trail Section
More Updates from John
Update # 1 — The Hike Begins in Southern California
Update # 2 — 700 miles and Ready to Hit the High Sierras
Update # 3 — The Grueling Hike Through the Snow
Update # 4 — John Leaves The Snow and Reaches Oregon (with Audio)
All Updates — View as a List
Cleaner Water For Haiti
May 9th, 2011 by tkaderabek 1 comment »Mission Manna recently upgraded our biosand water filtration systems to include an additional stage to prevent the spread of the cholera virus. We will continue to use this Klorfasil system as long as cholera remains a concern in Haiti.
As a measure of how strongly Mission Manna feels about clean water being essential to wellness in Haiti, we have also hired another employee to administer this program. We are extremely grateful for the vision and support that we receive from so many people so that we can continue to provide wider ranging care in Haiti. As always, mesi anpil.
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