As we try to balance our jobs, personal lives and planning for our fundraising adventure, Aparna, Doug and I have all been feeling a little hectic. However, despite the insanity, there have been lots of reasons for us to celebrate! Every kind word of support, piece of knowledge and donation gives us renewed energy to go forward, so thank you to EVERYONE following our progress and contributing! This is a HUGE challenge and we couldn’t do it without you.

As I said, things are hectic, and having one less logistical detail to worry about is tremendous. Our current route requires us to get visas for Algeria, Nigeria, Niger and Cameroon. Some of these countries are more tricky to deal with than others and the cost of consular fees and visa processing is large.

One cause for celebration we want to share with all of you is the recent pledge of support from CIBT, Inc. CIBT is the world’s leading travel document specialist and expediting service - their mission is to help you navigate the passport and visa paperwork bureaucracies. If you ever need any travel document assistance, especially in a crunch, these are the people you call! I’ve had the privilege of working with them as a part of my job at Harvard, and also recently met one of their long time employees Steve D., and I am so thrilled to know their dynamic staff will be assisting with the coordination and cost of our visas!

Check them out at www.us.cibt.com.