Offering a helping hand to children half a world away

The One Person Project

Photo: Facebook/The One Person Project

Children at Simone's orphanage in the city of Kahama in north-west Tanzania.

The genesis of the One Person Project was at her mother’s deathbed.

“Have no regrets in life” were among her mother’s last words as she lay dying from breast cancer.

Nineteen years later, the project has produced 17 trips to Tanzania, six cargo containers and the creation of a not-for-profit society that funds an orphanage, as well as delivered books, clothing and other supplies, funded education and provided teaching and much needed medical supplies.

My social media is limited to a Facebook account that I routinely check and read about other people’s lives. I must confess, during the dark overcast winter months in the Okanagan I have spent more time on my Facebook account that I like to admit.

Our modern secular world is rife with bad, gloomy and negative information and news. It is nice to hear or read about something positive and uplifting amid the chaos of modern life. The One Person Project is such a story, one I stumbled across this winter on my FB account.

Peter was a childhood friend from my hometown and is a friend on Facebook. His account was tagged with Brenda’s the One Person Project visit to Tanzania this winter. It was a refreshing breath of fresh air to read about their adventure and see their spectacular pictures, rather than see what people are eating for dinner or expounding the dogmatic political views common on FB.

Brenda is the loquacious and passionate driving force behind TOPP. A retired nurse by trade who specialized in geriatric medicine, she is familiar with caring and helping those in need. She now lives in Summerland and does constant fundraising for her organization. She is in routine contact with various individuals in Africa and makes one six-week trip each year to Kahama, Tanzania to check how the funds are being used.

Along with about 12 others pay, who also pay their own way to Tanzania, she bring a suitcase full of items to give away, spends time helping with projects at the orphanage or related to the community that can benefit the disadvantaged and oversees various projects funded by TOPP.

Tanzania is located in southeast Africa, bordering Kenya, Uganda, Bruni, Rwanda and Congo. It has a population of about 67 million people. Two thirds of the population live in rural areas. The official languages are English and Swahili. The average wage is equivalent to about $280. Nearly half the population lives in poverty and makes less than $3 per day.

Healthcare in Tanzania is strained. The country has a high rate of maternal mortality, infant mortality, HIV/AIDS, pneumonia, lung disease and malaria. The doctor to patient ratio is quite low and is estimated to be three doctors per 100,000 people. Only about 1/3 of the population have health care insurance with 2/3 having to pay out of pocket for health care services and prescriptions.

The orphanage is located in the city of Kahama, in north-west Tanzania. It is a somewhat isolated but a bustling travel intersection for truckers who pass through this region. With the promise of jobs from a mine nearby, the city expanded to a population of more than 400,000 but that has now has dwindled after the mine closed.

A YouTube search of Kahama shows a flat savannah landscape with brown, red earth, old gnarly baobab trees and blue sky with heat and aridity.

The orphanage was established in 2012 when TOPP partnered with a group of teachers who purchased the land to establish a school and former orphanage. The current orphanage houses about 40 children, half of them boys and half of them girls. It provides food and medical expenses, supplies clothing and school uniforms, provides education and schooling, pays for a guard, matron and social worker and provides additional educational opportunities for the children when they leave the orphanage.

The orphanage is called Simone’s Orphanage, named after a now deceased Okanagan benefactor who made substantial contributions for the development and operation of the facility.

TOPP is a local grassroots organization trying to make a difference in the world, one person at a time. The crowning event of the organization is an annual fundraising gala in Summerland in the first week of November, which tries to raise money and supplies for the following year’s annual trip by volunteers to the orphanage.

Volunteers are not paid and pay their own way and expenses for the trip. Brenda is one of the chaperones who oversees the trip.

She shared an inspiring quote about her choice for the name of her organization: “To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world.”

The information provided in this article is not intended to constitute medical advice. All information and content are for general information purposes only.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.

Staying healthy as we age

Good health in later years

Photo: Pixabay

“Every evening, after supper, I have two fingers of whiskey” he said, explaining his dietary and lifestyle habits that he said ensured good health in advancing age.

I admit it. I am getting soft and old. I used to embrace the cold, dark and wet days of winter with a combination of endurance and exuberance. I would include a variety of winter activities, including cross-country skiing, hockey, ice-skating and downhill skiing.

Now, as I advance in years, I enjoy several months of almost daily swimming. During the last couple of years, I have made it a habit to swim early morning laps at the Parkinson’s Recreation Centre in Kelowna.

As my biological clock ticks upward, I am much less robust to jump in a cold pool and begin vigorously exercising. I must warm up first in either the hot tub or sauna for a few minutes before. It is during the warmup phase that you meet other like-minded individuals. Being somewhat gregarious by nature, although somewhat reticent in the early morning, and after one cup of coffee, I still like to engage in casual conversation with others. It was during one particular cold morning in February that I talked to a refined Swiss gentleman.

“I feel great” he said. He divulged it was his birthday and he was turning 84 years of age. He was a tall, balding and slightly paunchy gentleman of European stalk, with soft muscles and connective tissue. He said he was married for a long time. He had lived in different cities, including cold and harsh northern locales throughout Canada after he emigrated here. He worked hard in a variety of hard, physical jobs. He retired in Kelowna and was enjoying his twilight years in relatively good health, unencumbered by physical ailments that usually accompany aging.

He described his dietary habits. He said he hardly every ate out and never ate processed or refined foods, except for occasional fine European chocolates or pastries. For the most part he ate unprocessed whole foods, including whole grains and cereals, fresh fruits and vegetables. He was not vegetarian and ate some meat, chicken and fish. He was not a smoker and was moderate drinker. He took “baby” (low-dose) aspirin and a blood pressure (medication) and a few vitamins, but that was all.

Good health is a relative term that can mean different things for different people. The World Health Organization defines good health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity."

Most people agree good health with advancing age is a blessing. The Irish writer and playwright George Bernard Shaw is often quoted as saying “Youth is a beautiful thing; too bad it is wasted when you are young.” The acerbic and derogatory quote expounds the virtues of good health in youth. The innuendo of the statement is that old age could be fraught with health problems. Furthermore, Shaw pointed out that you don’t realize what you have until it’s gone. Youth, like good health, can be fleeting.

Many of the chronic diseases of aging are cumulative and debilitating. Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, cardiovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, dementia, depression, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, kidney disease, lung disease, osteoarthritis and Parkinson’s disease can occur.

Life is precious. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to realize life is a self-limiting process. The duration of our individual existence obviously varies from one person to another. If you have relatively good health during your existence, it is most likely a combination of good luck and hard work.

Your genetic pedigree can determine your inherited weakness and tendencies. If you inherit good genes, you may live a long time despite your circumstances and habits. We all know somebody who had bad dietary and lifestyle habits yet managed to live a long time with no health problems. Despite drinking, smoking, not exercising, eating the wrong foods this individual was genetically blessed with relatively good health. That occurrence is more rare than common for most people.

For most people a combination of good diet and lifestyle habits can ensure relative good health with advancing age. Eating healthy helps to ensure good health. A diet rich in unprocessed, whole foods, fresh fruits and vegetables contains an abundance of vitamins, minerals and other phyto-nutrients that help the body work better. Daily exercise can help to maintain mental, physical and spiritual well being. Good social connections can also be pivotal to maintaining good health.

The proverb “the road to perdition (commonly quoted as ‘the road to Hell’) is paved with good intentions” further expounds the idea that action is needed to make our goals become a reality. Good health requires action.

The information provided in this article is not intended to constitute medical advice. All information and content are for general information purposes only.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.

Inflammation: The body's response to injury

Treatment of inflammation

Photo: University of Queensland

Inflammation is a normal response to injury or trauma and usually involves swelling, edema, redness, heat and loss of function.

The word inflammation literally means “to set on fire.” The inflammatory response can be provoked by physical, chemical and biological agents, including physical trauma, exposure to excessive amounts of sunlight, x-rays and radioactive materials, corrosive chemicals, extremes of heat and cold and infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses and other micro-organisms.

The classic signs of inflammation are heat, redness, swelling, pain and loss of function. Those signs are manifestations of the changes that occur during the inflammatory process. They can occur in virtually any tissue of the human body, including muscles, tendons, ligaments, blood vessels, the brain, heart, lungs and other organs.

The major components of this process are changes in blood flow through blood vessels, increased capillary permeability and the presence of white blood cells.

Large quantities of chemicals, such as histamines are released in response to local trauma. This causes an increase in local blood flow and an increase in capillary permeability. As a result, large quantities of fluid and proteins leak out into surrounding tissue. The fluid begins to clot around blood vessels. A clot will usually form within five minutes after a blood vessel wall has been damaged. White blood cells migrate to the area of tissue damage and prevent further damage and infection. The inflamed tissue is separated from normal tissue, which delays the spread of bacteria and other toxic products.

The chemical messengers that initiate and promote inflammation include arachidonic acid derivatives, including leukotrienes and prostaglandins, vasoactive peptides including kinins, phospholipid mediators including platelet activating factor and other cytokines including histamine, interleukins and serotonin.

Pharmaceutical drugs and plant derivatives are used to target specific biochemical pathways involving one or more of these inflammatory chemicals.

Blood tests can be useful in determining the level of inflammation in the body. The white blood cell count and specifically neutrophils, C-reactive protein or CRP and erythrocyte elevation rate or ESR are elevated when inflammation occurs. Also, the level of blood viscosity in the serum is an indicator of inflammation.

Conventional medical treatment of inflammation focuses on drug therapy. Commonly prescribed anti-inflammatory medications include acetylsalicylic acid otherwise known as ASA (Aspirin), ibuprofen (Motrin), celecoxib (Celebrex), diclofenac or (Voltaren), indomethacin (Indocid), mefenamic acid (Ponstel) and naproxen (Naprosyn). Acetaminophen (Tylenol) is an effective analgesic or pain killer but does not really reduce inflammation effectively. Corticosteroids or steroids are potent anti-inflammatories that can reduce the inflammatory response. Hydroxy cortisone or cortisone and prednisone are strong naturally occurring anti-inflammatories.

Side effects of these commonly prescribed medicine include nausea, vomiting, headaches, dizziness, ringing in the ears or tinnitus, heartburn, stomach pain, ulcers and reduced kidney function. The use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAIDS) should be limited to short-term use because their prolonged ingestion can inhibit tissue repair and wound healing.

Steroids are occasionally prescribed, but their use is limited due their side effects.

Rest, ice, compression and elevation or “R.I.C.E.” is an important first-aid response to trauma and inflammation. Ice packs can be applied to inflamed tissue in most cases for 24 to 72 hours following an injury. Ice and cold application cause blood vessel constriction and reduce inflammation. The injured tissue should be immobilized from further movement to prevent further damage and inflammation. The injured part should be elevated to decrease inflammation and swelling. After 72 hours warm packs can be applied to damaged tissues. That helps to increase blood supply to the injured tissue and increases healing.

Physical therapy, such as acupuncture, cold or cryotherapy, hot or hyperthermia, electric muscle stimulation (EMS), infrared therapy, pulsed electromagnetic (PEM) therapy, transcutaneous electro neural stimulation (TENS), laser and ultrasound are effective in reducing inflammation and helping to promote healing as well.

Calcium and magnesium supplementation may be beneficial in promoting tissue relaxation. Additionally, trace minerals are required for normal tissue function and repair enzymes. Fish oils rich in eicosapentanoic acid (EPA) and docosahexanoic acid (DHA) can help to reduce inflammation by decreasing the creation of inflammatory chemicals.

Chondroitin, collagen, glucosamine, methyl sufonyl methane (MSM) are tissue specific precursors that contain amino acids and protein, proteoglycans or sugars and sulfur that are used to make healthy connective tissue.

Proteolytic enzymes from pancreatin, bromelain from pineapple and papain from papaya, alone or in combination can reduce inflammation by digesting inflammatory proteins. Unlike enzymes taken with food to help digestion, these enzymes should be taken away from food to maximize their anti-inflammatory effects.

Arnica, frankincense, ginger, turmeric and willow bark and several other herbs have been used in foods and supplements to help reduce inflammation. They can be effectively combined with other over the counter and prescription anti-inflammatory medicine in many cases. However, caution should be exercised because both herbal and NSAID drugs can thin the blood, especially if you are on blood thinning medicine or have a history of bleeding.

The information provided in this article is not intended to constitute medical advice. All information and content are for general information purposes only.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.

Easing the potentially debilitating effects of asthma

Dealing with asthma

Photo: Pixabay

Asthma is a condition marked by recurrent attacks of difficult breathing and wheezing due to spasmodic constriction of the bronchi tubes.

It as also known as bronchial asthma. Attacks vary greatly, from occasional periods of difficult breathing and wheezing to severe attacks that produce suffocation and require immediate medical attention. An acute attack that lasts for days to weeks is called “status asthmaticus.”

Asthma occurs in approximately 3% of the general population with varying degrees of severity. It occurs equally in males and females and tends to occur in children and young adults.

It is a chronic condition with an irregular pattern of exacerbations and remissions and can be classified into three types according to causative factors.

• Extrinsic asthma is due to an external allergy and represents the most common type of asthma. Usually, the offending allergens are suspended in air in the form of pollen, dust, cigarette smoke, automobile exhaust, animal dander or some other offending agent.

• Intrinsic asthma or non-allergenic asthma is due to a chronic, underlying infection of the bronchi, sinuses, tonsils or adenoids by bacteria, fungi or viruses. There is evidence that this type of asthma develops from a hypersensitivity to the offending infectious agent.

• The mixed type is the third category of asthma and is due to a combination of extrinsic and intrinsic factors. Attacks can be precipitated by infections, emotional factors such as stress and anxiety and exposure to non-specific irritants.

A typical asthmatic attack is characterized by difficulty breathing and wheezing due to restricted air flow. The affected individual assumes a classic sitting posture, leaning forward, to use all the muscles of respiration. The skin is usually pale and moist with perspiration. In severe attacks the lips and nailbeds can appear blue in colour. In the early stages of an attack, coughing may be dry but as the attack progresses, the cough becomes more productive with thick mucoid sputum.

The exact cause of asthma is not entirely known. There is an inherited tendency towards the development of extrinsic asthma. It is related to a hypersensitivity immune reaction. The affected individual often gives a family history of allergies of one kind or another and a personal history of allergic disorders. Secondary factors affecting the severity of the attack or triggering its onset include events that produce emotional stress, exercise, environmental changes in humidity and temperature and exposure to noxious fumes of other airborne allergens.

Conventional medical treatment of asthma focuses on drug therapy to prevent and treat bronchial spasms. Salbutamol or Ventolin is the most common inhaled medicine for acute asthma. It basically relaxes bronchial smooth muscle by inhibiting nerve impulses that cause bronchial constriction. Theophylline and caffeine are two other drugs that promote bronchodilation. Cortisone and its derivatives are also widely used to decrease the inflammatory response and produce bronchial relaxation. A bronchodilator drug is often prescribed together with a corticosteroid in the management of both acute and chronic asthmatic attacks.

Stress and emotional factors aggravate asthma. Stressors should be identified and reduced where possible.

Environmental sensitivities and allergens should be identified and eliminated where possible. Common environmental allergens include pollen, dust, molds, animal dander, automobile exhaust and other pollution, cigarette smoke, pesticides, herbicides, perfumes and other inhalants.

Breathing exercise that increase the use of the diaphragm and promote deep breathing should be practiced. Meditation can be used to help reduce stress and relax bronchial muscle.

Diet can play a role in the development and exacerbation of asthma. Food sensitivities and allergies can trigger asthmatic attacks. Excess sugar and refined carbohydrates, dairy products, wheat, eggs, corn, nuts, chocolate, citrus fruits are among the potential offending foods. A high consumption of dairy, wheat and other carbohydrate both directly and indirectly increases mucous production in the airways.

Benzoates, monosodium glutamate or MSG, sulfites, tartrazine, salicylates and other food additives can also potentially trigger asthmatic attacks. Calcium deficiency can promote bronchial contraction and worsen asthmatic attacks. Calcium is in intimately involved in muscle contraction and relaxation.

Magnesium deficiency can also promote bronchial contraction and worsen attacks. Magnesium is intimately involved in muscle contraction and relaxation and can be beneficial as a supplement, even if not deficient. Supplemental magnesium can relax bronchial smooth muscles and improve air flow. The downside, if there is too much magnesium, is that it may also relax your bowel muscles. Intramuscular and intravenous magnesium has been used and can also be beneficial in an acute asthmatic attack.

Omega 3 oils, rich in docosahexanoic acid and eicosapentanoic acid, can decrease the inflammatory reaction by decreasing the production of specific inflammatory chemicals. While not helpful for an acute attack, the oils can down regulate the chronic inflammatory cycle involved in chronic asthma. It works in much the same way as the prescription drug Singular, or montelukast.

Some herbal medicine may help to promote bronchial dilation and decrease asthmatic attacks. These include coltsfoot, ephedra, fenugreek, horehound, licorice, lobelia, mullein and wild cherry bark. They can be a useful adjunct if using prescription bronchodilator medicine.

The information provided in this article is not intended to constitute medical advice. All information and content are for general information purposes only.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.