Local Teacher Accompanied by Former Students on Humanitarian Trip to Africa

Hudson Falls, July 29, 2009 – Nancy Wiley, a New Visions Health Careers Exploration instructor for the Washington-Saratoga-Warren-Hamilton-Essex BOCES, will be embarking on her fourth trip to Africa from August 8-22.
 
Wiley will be accompanied by two special travel companions on this trip, former New Visions students Brittany Leonka and Mike Rolleston, both from Queensbury.  
 
Wiley and her former students will be travelling with Team Rafiki, a group currently working with the African Reflections Foundation to provide various services to the rural villagers in Tanzania, near the capital of Dar es Salaam.
 
Brittany is currently a sophomore, biology/pre-med student at Hartwick College in Oneonta, NY. Mike is also a sophomore, studying psychology/pre-med at Clarkson University in Potsdam, NY. Unsure they would be able to study abroad because of their demanding schedules, they were ecstatic to find out about former instructor Nancy Wiley’s trip to Tanzania.
 
Wiley states, “New Visions opened these students up to new, exciting opportunities, and better prepared them for college. I am so happy to have Brittany and Mike travelling with me to Africa. It will be rewarding to have this experience with them, especially Brittany, who will be travelling on an airplane for the first time.”
 
As students in the 2007 New Visions Health Careers Exploration program, Brittany and Mike were exposed to Wiley’s African volunteer work, as it was fused into some of their course work. For example, the student’s researched treatments for malaria, studied the medicinal purposes of herbs found or grown in the African villages, and even raised money to make friendship bracelets for the children. Now, Brittany and Mike will embark on their first journey to Africa together, and utilize the knowledge gained in college and during the New Visions Program.
 
Wiley and her former students will work on various projects while in Tanzania. Brittany, an Emergency Medical Technician, will hold first aid sessions that will teach simple and sustainable methods of basic first aid, using locally available products. Mike will be involved in administering fluoride treatments to 900 children. Nancy will continue her work on the feminine pad project and help coordinate additional projects with school-aged children. They will also be involved in other volunteer efforts including delivering medical supplies, opening the St. Francis maternity ward, home health visits, and health-related educational workshops.
 
If you would like to help Team Rafiki in their humanitarian mission or get more information on the organization, please visit www.teamrafiki.org.
 
New Visions Health Careers Exploration is one of 24 Career and Technical Education programs offered by the Washington-Saratoga-Warren-Hamilton-Essex BOCES. It is available at both the F. Donald Myers Education Center in Saratoga Springs and the Southern Adirondack Education Center in Hudson Falls. Any high school student enrolled in one of the BOCES’ 31 component school districts is eligible for admission to the program through his or her home school. For more information on Career and Technical Education programs, visit www.wswheboces.org/CTE .

Photo Caption: Nancy Wiley working with the village children during her November 2008 trip to Tanzania with Team Rafiki.