Small Steps, to make BIG strides!

Many of you have wondered what has taken us so long to publish our website and make this blog visible to friends and family. The truth is, Lutful and I don't want to rush things for the sake of BEING. We want to build a FOUNDATION strong enough that the Camelia Institute can overcome unforeseen obstacles. We want our foundation to be strong enough to withstand our absence-- because it isn't about us, it is about helping our impoverished elderly worldwide.

For those of you who would like us to be fully functional NOW, we thank you for your encouragement and well wishes! We would LOVE to be able to distribute the equipment today, if we could-- but there are various steps we have to take to ensure a successful project. The Camelia Institute doesn't want to stop in the Dominican Republic, we want to help as many impoverished countries as we can (with the right resources, of course).

Remember: SMALL STEPS, TO MAKE BIG STRIDES!

Thank you for taking the time to read this, we look forward in reading your comments!

Some Donations!

We are on a roll! Three times in one week?! We're certainly trying to make up for lost time :) We'd like to keep you as involved as possible, or at the very least let you understand what we are working on.

Progress:

• Since our pilot project will take place in the Dominican Republic, we spoke with the Consulate of the Dominican Republic to see if they would be willing to help with our project. The good news is: they didn't shut us down! The bad news: well, there isn't really any bad news.... We were asked to write a letter to the Consul explaining who we are, what we want to accomplish in the DR and most importantly, what we'd like their help with. We will be working on the letter, and will keep you abreast on how things go.
• Jahangir K. Khan has pledged to donate customized tee shirts for the Camelia Institute. At present, we have 4 custom tee shirts, 4 hats and 2 tote bags. These personalized items were purchased by Lutful and Jennifer to give the organization an identity. Aside from that, because we are not an established nonprofit, and don't yet have a fiscal sponsor (we're working on it), we want to have legitimacy when asking for donations and distributing the donations. Mr. Khan- THANK YOU! 

Okay, I think that's it for now. Until next time! 

We're on a roll ! ! !

Aside from working on the Camelia Institute, I had the pleasure of attending an S.L.E. Lupus Foundation support group with Pi Gluten Free yesterday. It was such an inspiration to be in the same room with all of these INCREDIBLE women and men. I lack words to describe how this meeting made me feel, however I will surely try.

Although I do not have Lupus or any autoimmune disease, I am so proud of the strength exuded by those who live with these illnesses. Not only are these women and men living with illnesses which are NOT visible to the world, they are constantly hearing their illness is in their heads. MANY autoimmune illnesses go unnoticed, undiagnosed and unfortunately, untreated for years. More advocacy needs to be done to get people the help they need, WHEN they need it. More advocacy needs to occur to have doctors understand that just because they CAN'T see an illness, does not mean it isn't there.



Let's stop ostracizing others because they're different. Let's stop telling people they are okay because they get themselves together in the morning even though inside, their world is collapsing. Let's stop telling people an illness is in their head, when there is so much more you can do to help them.

Let's start LISTENING, let's start PAYING ATTENTION, let's start CARING.


-Jen

P.S.- Check out www.pi-glutenfree.com for more information on a company which offers delicious foods, free of gluten, AND a company with an INCREDIBLE social mission!

What's going on?

Lutful and I are in the process of updating our website: http://www.cameliainstitute.org/ . This needs to happen before we can effectively spread the word about our organization, especially when using social networking sites to inform our family, friends, and the community that we are in operation and most importantly: WE EXIST.

Aside from revamping our existing website (there's been some tweaking which NEEDS to occur before publishing), we have asked some family members and friends for the donation of any medical equipment they did not need. There have been many pledges, let's cross our fingers and hope they become actual donors! Because these pledges are coming from different areas in NYC, Lutful and I will be developing a strategy on how to effectively and efficiently pick up the equipment from each location. ANY IDEAS?  (Down the road, we intend on having drop off locations in various neighborhoods for our donors to conveniently drop off their unwanted equipment).

Until next time! Sooner than later, we hope :)

-Jennifer

Snail pace

We get it... we are presently operating at snails pace. What's important, though: WE ARE OPERATING! 

We will try our best to keep the ball rolling with this blog. We will continue making progress with the shipment. Right now networking is EXTREMELY important, wish us luck! 

hugs! 

-Jennifer