-
[PLANNING
CALENDAR]
Dear Valued Volunteer,
One way that we hope to assure success of our Medical Mission
is by careful, deliberate planning. Nothing can replace this.
It is vital for the group, for the success of the mission,
and for those souls we are trying to reach, that we plan every
detail that is possible.
In truth, there will be times when all the planning in the
world will not get us ready for some of the "surprises"
that this type of work offers. But sometimes, the careful
planning will "head off" the surprises, and keep
them from shutting us down in the process.
Here you will find a calendar of events to help you in your
planning of this Medical Mission. For the most part, if you
follow it carefully, you will eliminate about 80% of the stress
and bother of putting a team together. Following the calendar,
along with delegating responsibility of the group, will make
the job easier for everyone. In fact, it will share the load
so well that the chance of burn out, or of burning up an individual,
will be greatly diminished.
Use this calendar as a guide. It will help you in more ways
than you can imagine. It will keep deadlines from sneaking
up on you and will serve as a guide to make your journey as
streamlined as possible.
:: TWELVE MONTHS BEFORE THE CLINIC
::
Start "planting seeds" of thought in the minds of
people you want to come along. A year ahead of time gives many
people a chance to get used to the idea, to talk to others who
have been, and to think of how they can accomplish the goal
of coming.
Be very aggressive with your Medical Personnel as early as possible.
Start by trying to recruit Doctors, Dentists, Eye Specialists,
and others in medical fields. This is of extreme importance
if the Clinic is to be properly staffed.
:: TEN MONTHS BEFORE THE CLINIC ::
Set the tentative date. Any dates that we are holding will be
released on (DATE). If you
want your date from the year before, please set it before this
time.
Try to appoint your committee of co-workers.
Take a look at where you are with medical workers. Spread the
word around your Medical Workers for the year before that you
need additional help. Talk to them personally ... they may know
of someone.
:: SEVEN TO EIGHT MONTHS BEFORE THE
CLINIC ::
Start publicly announcing the date of the clinic in your home,
school, company or organization's bulletin. This date needs
to be in a place where everyone can see it.
Have a Meeting of all who are interested in going or participating
in the Medical Mission in any way. Encourage anyone who may
be remotely interested to come to the first meeting.
At the first meeting:
Talk about what has been done in the
past in Nigeria, both with your team and with Operation Nigeria.
(You can get this info off of our web site)
Talk about our possible locations of service in Nigeria. And
talk about possible areas of service that your team can be
a part of.
a.
Medical education forums
b. Pre-screening registration
c. Pharmacy
d. Maintenance of patient files
e. Medical examinations and diagnosis
f. Operating medical equipment
g. Historian projects (capture community & services via
camera or video)
h. Transporting of medicines and volunteers
i. Security and maintaining line order
Have people who have been before to give a report of what the
trip meant to them.
Have an Operation Nigeria representative present to talk about
the organization and to answer any questions.
Pass out fact sheets on Nigeria. (Get this from our Web Site:
http://www.AFRICARE-WHICO.org/statistics.htm)
Pass out copies of fund-raising letters
with recommendations on how to raise the funds.
Introduce your Clinic Committee and explain who will have what
responsibility.
Discuss how many Medical Personnel and how many Team Assistants
are presently recruited and still needed.
:: SIX MONTHS BEFORE THE CLINIC ::
Have your money collected for the formulary that we will have
delivered to the clinic in Nigeria. This is $50 per person and
should be handed in by (DATE).
Start collecting in earnest those medications that are not in
our formulary.
•
Write letters to drug companies and drug representatives.
• Set up a place to store and sort the drugs and supplies.
• Set up a place in your home congregation to collect children's
vitamins, cold medication, and other over-the-counter medications.
Start collecting money from team members.
Call a meeting with people who have signed up.
•
Make sure everyone has their passport or a passport application.
• Set a deposit fee and start encouraging as many as possible
to cover their deposit.
Start working with AFRICARE-WHICO on airline reservations. (The earlier,
the cheaper the tickets are.)
By this time, you should know what the airfare from your point
of departure to Los Angeles is, and AFRICARE-WHICO should know the cost
of the rest of the Medical Mission. AFRICARE-WHICO' fee covers the costs
from Los Angeles, back to Los Angeles. The only extra expense
will be lunch on Sunday, cokes and other snacks at the hotel,
and possibly lunch on Saturday (depending on what you do on
your day off).
:: FIVE MONTHS BEFORE THE CLINIC ::
Have a Team Committee meeting to try and head off any potential
problems. Get reports from leaders. This is VERY, VERY IMPORTANT.
Your Team Committee can keep things from getting away from you.
:: FOUR MONTHS BEFORE THE CLINIC ::
Have a Team Committee meeting to discuss possible problems and
solutions.
Call a team meeting. Get reports on:
•
Drugs and medical supplies still
needed
• Medical Personnel and Team Assistants still needed
• Funding totals for each person going.
• Announce that starting the next month you will have weekly
meetings on Wednesday nights (or some other night if needed)
to prepare for the trip. Stress the importance of these meetings
with everyone on the team. Encourage everyone to be present.
Teams that do this have a very high success rate every time
they come.
Decide what personal work approach you are going to use as
a team before this meeting and give everyone on the team a copy
of the approach to be used. This gives everyone a chance to
become familiar with the approach and get comfortable with it.
By this time, you should decide if you are going to have people
take a day off in Nigeria. If you do this, EVERYONE on the team
must leave Nigeria at the same time – EVERYONE. We cannot
make two and three trips to the airport to get people in and
out of the country.
Remember, too, if you stopover somewhere, the cost is about
$100 extra. ($50.00 BWIA stopover fee, $30.00 airport transfer,
$20 exit tax.) PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY FOR THIS.
:: THREE MONTHS BEFORE THE CLINIC
::
At these classes, talk about such things as:
•
Funds needed for the trip
• Discuss what each group needs (Maybe show the needs via
chart or graph)
This really helps everyone to know who needs help and assistance.
It also encourages everyone to do the most they can to get their
funding in.
•
Approaching deposit and passport deadlines
• Discuss Nigerian/African culture, facts and the various
religions they will find.
• Have time set aside to go through the Personal Work Method
and Role Play teachers and students.
• Pray about the success of the clinic. Pray for friends
and families left behind. Pray for those who will be taught.
Pray for our brethren at the church where the clinic will be.
:: TWO MONTHS BEFORE THE CLINIC ::
Have a team committee meeting to discuss problems, last minute
needs. Don't leave anything unanswered questions.
Prepare to send the $200 Deposit per person to AFRICARE-WHICO, if it
hasn't been done already.
Collect photocopies of credentials for all team physicians and
dentists. Partners In Progress needs (by mid-Month,
preferably) clear copies of (1) medical or dental school diploma,
(2) current license to practice, and (3) completed Medical Council
of Nigeria registration form for each physician and dentist.
(Medical Council form is at our website at www.nigeria-missions.org)
:: 60 DAYS BEFORE DEPARTURE ::
$200 deposit per person MUST be in the AFRICARE-WHICO office (P.O. Box
84480, Los Angeles, CA 90073-0480) by this (DATE).
DO NOT BE LATE. We cannot hold on to plane reservations beyond
this (DATE). Last year,
AFRICARE-WHICO sent over 7 people to Nigeria alone. We cannot "float"
a group's expenses, because by this time that would be several
hundred thousand dollars. Please make sure the deposits and
payments are in on time.
Schedule "Pill Packing Parties." Get everyone on the
team to participate and encourage others to participate, too.
This is a great time of fellowship and really helps the team
to forge a relationship with each other.
:: 45 DAYS BEFORE DEPARTURE ::
Balance due to AFRICARE-WHICO today. This deadline MUST also be adhered
to strictly. If your money has not arrived at our office by
today, we will have no choice but to cancel reservations. As
badly as we want you to go, we must pay airlines, hotels, and
other expenses fully by this date. We cannot do that unless
your group's money is turned in to us.
:: ONE MONTH BEFORE THE CLINIC ::
Call special meeting of mission team. Pray for God's blessing
(optional) and give those in the group who have been before
a chance to share stories and experiences that have encouraged
them. Make this a vision building session.
Make sure that all drugs and medical supplies are secured. Anything
additional that you need must be ordered by now.
Make sure you have Clinic Numbers and Clinic Registration Forms
for your group.
Make sure you have other things you may need: ropes, sheets,
tarps, hammers, medicine bottles, and anything else you can
possibly think of ... remember, we won't have a Wal-Mart close
by.
:: TWO WEEKS BEFORE THE CLINIC ::
By this time the pharmacy should be fully packed and set up
for transport.
•
All passports should be in.
• Nametags should be made for each team member.
• Have a FINAL meeting for the team to discuss the time
to meet at the airport.
• Answer final questions and then spend the next two weeks
glad that everything is set up and "put to bed." Now
relax and get ready for a great Clinic.
Send an E-mail to Dshaikh Izuchukwu at dshaikh@whico.org
telling him what date you will be arriving, what time your plane
should land, how many are on the team, and the completed rooming
list of the team. This information MUST be sent to Steve via
email TWO WEEKS before you arrive.
AFRICARE-WHICO - Providing Healthcare System that is:
People-Centered, Accessible, Affordable, Equitable, Quality
and Sustainable to the rural medically underserved poor communities
in Africa
|
Privacy Policy | Questions?