Into Africa

A Cathlamet woman is joining a group of other women to bring school supplies and health care to Kenya in Africa in July.

Julie McKinley, a registered nurse employed by the Hotel Cathlamet Assisted Living Center, will join four other volunteers in the Imani Project, which was started by a Portland woman to distribute school supplies and basic health care to outlying villages.

McKinley said the group is focusing on orphanages where children don’t have the support of families.

“There are so many grandparents and relatives raising the kids who have been orphaned by AIDS,” she said.

Marlene Anderson, a Portland resident who also has a house on Puget Island, started the Imani Project five years ago. She is a teacher and social worker, and her husband, David, is an attorney and poet.

McKinley met them last year when David Anderson read poetry at The Trillium Bookstore in Cathlamet.

McKinley made a similar trip in early April of this year to Mexico to help a group distribute rice, beans and clothing to Huahacan tribe members. The trip was organized by a missionary who visited the Cathlamet Christian Fellowship last year. Local resident Lisa Rideout and two of McKinley’s granddaughters, Kyler, 12 years, and Kael, 10 years, also participated.

McKinley said she is pleased to volunteer for the efforts.

“I just think that we have so much,” she said. “Personally, I am very blessed in my life. It’s about giving back to justify taking up space on this planet.

“You always get more than you give.”

McKinley is seeking contributions for the Imani Project. Needed are:

School supplies—Crayons and color books; pens, pencils, and colored markers; erasers and small pencil sharpeners; hard candies; stickers; deflated soccer balls, and pumps and patches for soccer balls.

Other items—Antacids, antihistamines, decongestants, cough drops, throat lozenges, anti-bacterial creme, antifungal creme, aspirin, Ibuprofen, Tylenol, anti-diarrhea medicines, mild laxatives, electrolytes-Care Plus, latex gloves, elastic bandages, hand sanitizers, small tooth brushes, tooth paste, and empty small pill bottles with caps.

Items are needed by June 15. People may leave the items at the Hotel Cathlamet or call McKinley to collect them.

“Any help will be greatly appreciated,” she said.

For more information on the Imani Project, see its website, imaniproject.org. According to the site, "The goal of the Imani Project is to enable Africans to become educators, caregivers and advocates so that HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention information will continue to spread throughout the rural villages."