Haen Elementary students collect hygiene products for Malawi village

KAUKAUNA — Fourth-grader Lucy Kailhofer smiled as she sealed a plastic bag containing a toothbrush, washcloth and bar of soap headed for Malawi, Africa.
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Then, remembering there was more work to be done, Kailhofer quickly grabbed another packet from a table at Haen Elementary School's library, moving in assembly line-fashion with her classmates.

Principal Eric Brinkmann will deliver the bags stuffed with personal hygiene items to residents of Funsani, a village of 500 people, when he makes his second trip to the central Malawian location on July 28.

"It's really good to volunteer," said Kailhofer, 10, who lives in Kaukauna. "It makes you feel better. You don't know how good it is to have this stuff until you don't have anything."

Brinkmann, who will travel with a team from Spring Lake Church in Green Bay, decided to get students involved in collecting items for Funsani residents to reinforce the character traits youngsters learned during the school year.

Residents of Funsani lack access to medical care, which means conditions like ear infections easily treated in the United States escalate to hearing loss because the closest clinic is 45 minutes by vehicle.

"Most of them don't have access to a vehicle, so it could be a full day of walking to get there," said Brinkmann, who recently was named the district's director of curriculum, instruction and assessment. "We do a lot of walk-in clinics. We're able to treat some of those (conditions) with a short course of antibiotics."

A nurse who traveled to Malawi last year suggested that the church group bring along hygiene packets to help prevent infections. The packets will be distributed when the church group conducts home visits.

Brinkmann said he is looking forward to being part of the church's team again this year and is grateful for the opportunity.

"Outside of getting married and having kids, it's probably the third-greatest experience of my life," he said.