Show A Little Support?

According to my friends and family back home, my little blog here has developed quite the following. Who would have thought a little small town girl from Washington would have a following?! I’m a little surprised people would want to read my random thoughts about my experiences down here in South Africa but it’s kind of exciting. Sometimes I like to think of myself as a little small town celebrity, and then I come back to reality and remember that I live in a hut in Africa and haven’t really washed my back in who knows how long. I’m pretty sure even small town celebrities are at least clean. So for whatever reason you are reading this, whether it’s for my witty humor or if you’re waiting to see if I get eaten by some wild animal, I appreciate the support. Many of you have been asking about what you could do to help me and my cause, and this post is for you! I’ve got two options for you, one is far more important than the other, but I figured I would throw them both out there anyways.

Option One: The Important One

In March, many of the South African volunteers, as well as volunteers from Zambia, Swaziland, and Mozambique will come together in the Drakensberg Mountains to run the Longtom Marathon. Fortunately, for those of you who have seen me run, I will not be participating in the actual race. However, I will be heading up the BBQ team, which let’s be honest is way harder than running an ultra-marathon. The marathon was actually started by a previous Peace Corps volunteer, and the proceeds go to support the KLM Foundation. The money is used to help send kids from rural villages (like the one I’m volunteering in) to college. In order to participate in the race or the BBQ, participants have to raise $100 by the day of the race. This is where you, my “fans”, come in. Although I run like a duck, and would die before ever making it close to the finish line, I will be going to the race to support my fellow volunteers and to support this fantastic cause. I am asking that anyone who is interested in helping, log onto www.klm-foundation.org/ At the top right hand corner there is a tab to Donate Now. You then just follow the prompts, and put my full name, Kelsey Lynch, in the participant box for the Longtom or Lake Geneva Race. Any amount that you are willing to give will go a long way in helping me fulfill my duty as BBQ Captain, and will go further than you can ever imagine in helping change the life of a learner who never thought college was possible. Most of the kids I work with have never even considered a future outside the village, but with your support we can help show how bright their future can really be.

Option Two: The Less Important, But Sill Important One

Send me mail! Nothing brightens my outlook on life like opening that PO Box every Friday to find a little note from someone. It reminds me that people back home still remember me, and that forgotten out here in my little rural hut. For those of you over achievers out there, and want to make your letter extra special by slipping a little something something in with your card, I have a few suggestions for you. There are three things that can easily be slipped into a letter sized envelope and that are vital to my daily sanity. 1. Coffee. Those little instant Starbucks Via packs make me want to sing in the morning. Then I go to school and usually want to cry, but for at least 30 minutes in my hut before school I am over joyed with the delicious smell of heaven (aka Starbucks). 2. Crystal Light. I don’t know if you have ever tried drinking rain water collected from your roof, but it’s not good. Add 5 calories of delicious sugar flavoring and you can’t even tell the difference, well until you hit a chunk of god knows what, but I like to try and just ignore those. 3. Hollandaise Sauce packs. When I am stressed I do two things, I either don’t eat, or I carbo-load, and what better way is there to carbo-load than by eating butter. If you haven’t seen the movie Julie and Julia, you should definitely watch it because Julia Child knew that butter just makes everything better. Unfortunately hollandaise sauce is hard to make in a real kitchen, so it’s basically impossible on my two burner hot plate! For some reason I just don’t think my one pot, two bowls, and fork would be up to Julia Child’s kitchen standards for making delicious butter sauce. However, those instant packets you can buy by the taco seasoning will do just fine for my African standards. There is nothing like coming home from a hard day at work and having a gourmet meal, and hollandaise sauce makes any meal gourmet. Just pour that stuff over my normal boring rice and veggies and it’s a good day. I figure the calories I get from that one meal will make up for the fact that I didn’t eat more than a few apples the two days before, right?

   So first, you should log onto www.klm-foundation.org and help me support those awesome people who don’t run like ducks out there, and then you should get out that pen and paper and send me a letter. J

PO Box 994

Umzimkulu 3297

South Africa

If you send me a letter, I will write you back!