Eight dedicated Volunteer in Mission members met at Will Rogers Airport, Oklahoma City at 2 p.m., February 3, 2007 to begin a mission to Meru, Kenya in Africa. An inauspicious beginning of a snow and ice storm delayed the proposed flight two and a half days. But this made the team all the more eager to get on with our objectives of putting the Kaaga School for the Hearing Impaired Library into operation.
Jean Warner, 61, OKC VIM coordinator of the project had been assisted by Florence Mubichi of OKC and Meru in this project. Florence and her family of Meru: husband Stephen and daughters Fridah, 32, and Ravena, 27, established this project as part of a memorial to honor their middle daughter Kanana, who was tragically killed in an auto accident four years ago. Jean recruited volunteers, raised monies to build, equip and supply materials for this library. Now, in its second year, with the building in place and books on site, the team aimed to do as much as possible to stamp, catalog, card and arrange books so as to make the library operational. Also, shorter shelves were needed to serve the youngest library users.
Members of the team were: Jean, with a PhD in political science and an interest in women’s empowerment; Neal Baumwart, 69, retired Methodist minister and counselor at Integris Medical Center, OKC; Kathy Baumwart, 66, retired professor of Early Childhood Development at Rose State College, OKC; Bob Macemon, 51, electrical engineer with RS Information Services, Norman, which works with weather radar and choir director of UMC of the Good Shepherd, Yukon; Margaret Macemon, 52, Media Assistant at Mustang Trails Elementary School; Katelyn McLain, 20, part-time college student, Edmond; Nicole Winters, currently a stay-at-home mother of a 2-year old daughter and former teacher and librarian, Broken Bow; and Nan Lacy, 76, semi-retired librarian, former library science teacher, Madill.
Team members had volunteered to take on various responsibilities including: Kathy – snack coordinator, hotel menu coordinator and name tag distributor; Neal – team banker/bill payer, devotion leader and head organizer of the religious library that last year’s Oklahoma VIM team donated to the MCK Kaaga Church; Nan – journal keeper and co-director of book sorting and cataloging; Bob – carpentry supplies overseer, music director and overseer of the construction of eight low wooden book shelves for the beginner reading room; Margaret – bottled water supply monitor and co-director of book sorting and cataloging; Katelyn – weblog mistress and (because she had picked up some sign language and the children adored her) liaison to the deaf children; Jean – mission and logistics coordinator and occasional speech giver; and Nicole – luggage manager, official team photographer and co-director of book sorting and cataloging.
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