[Ghanatrip] -s- Ghana Trip Leader in Hospital

[Laura Wendell]

It is with great sadness that I write to the group to inform you that 
Ellie Schimmelman, our Ghana trip coordinator, is in the hospital.  
After several emails through a friend of hers (see attached file), Ellie 
has recommended that we cancel our Ghana trip.  Ellie is severely ill.  
At this time, even her diagnosis is uncertain.  All that we know for 
certain is that she will need at least a month in a care facility and 
then another hospital visit.  I have asked if it would be possible for 
the Ghana staff of Aba Tours to carry on with the trip arrangements, but 
Ellie does not feel that this would be possible.  I have also looked 
into other organizations that might replace Aba Tours, but I have not 
been able to find another organization that can offer anything close to 
what Ellie had arranged - especially on such short notice. The trip as 
planned was structured around Ellie's contacts with artisans and 
villages interested in working with us.  Ellie and I began preparations 
for the trip last July and she used her fall trip to Ghana to make many 
of the arrangements.  Her knowledge and experience were critical for 
making the trip a success.

I deeply regret having to give you such bad news.  My family and I have 
been looking forward to the trip with great excitement.  I will, of 
course, refund everyone's deposits.  I will cut those checks today and 
can either mail them to you or you can pick them up.  Please let me know 
your preference.

I am confident that I will be able to organize another Ghana trip for 
another time and I hope that some of you might be able to join us then. 
Sharon Gale, one of our vendors, will be traveling to Ghana on March 
14th and she has promised to send me contacts and ideas.  If any of you 
would like to contribute ideas for a future trip or  reamin involved in 
this process, I would love to have your help and input.  It is possible 
that I will take my family to Ghana and Togo in the fall and use that 
trip to follow up with Sharon's contacts and make arrangements for a 
future group trip.   As an alternative, you might also like to consider 
the Cross Cultural Solutions' program in Ghana.  I know a few people who 
have traveled with them in the past and recommended them highly. 

Please call me if you would like to talk about this further.  If I do 
not get a reply to this eamil, I'll call you to make sure you received 
notification.

Laura
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