[Cagdu] FW: [K9Scoop] USA: Out of Africa and Into Her Heart

[tina thomas]

From: K9Scoop at yahoogroups.com [mailto:K9Scoop at yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of
Laurie Mehta
Sent: Wednesday, September 19, 2007 8:46 AM
To: K9Scoop list
Subject: [K9Scoop] USA: Out of Africa and Into Her Heart



The following article is taken from: 

The Guideway
Volume 61 No. 2

Out of Africa and Into Her Heart

There is a graphic of the map of Africa next to the
title of the story.

For most of us, what we know about Africa is what
we've learned from other sources. For Guide Dog
Foundation graduate Joni Owen, the Africa she knows is
what she's observed first hand: Owen lived in Kenya
for several months helping to program satellites for
cellular communications.

Owen was a culinary arts and computer science major in
school, planning to be a professional chef, when, in
2004, as a result of toxic optic neuritis, she
suffered sudden onset blindness. But this active
26-year-old wasn't about to let her vision loss stop
her from living her life. "I always knew I would
get a guide dog," she says, "because I couldn't go the
speed I wanted to go with a cane." She got her guide,
a Labrador/Poodle cross she calls Jelly, in
2005. "She keeps up with me," Owen laughs. "She's
hyper."

After she lost her sight, Owen decided that it would
be difficult working in a professional kitchen, so she
went back to back to school for her master's
degree in computer science.

The urban training Guide Dog Foundation guide dogs
undergo was very important because she knew she would
be taking mass transit and working in a busy downtown
area; she never thought she'd make use of her guide's
rural training.

But shortly after she received her master's, she
interviewed with AT&T and was offered a job to work in
Kenya programming satellites.

A Different World

Although she was in "complete shock" when she got to
the East African nation, Owen enthuses, "Kenya was
crazy and fantastic, everything you'd think Kenya
could be."

Jelly loved it too. "There were only three cars [in
Kwakamba, the town she lived in] and no traffic," Owen
recalls. But with goats and cows all around,
"I had to call the Foundation to learn how to deal
with goat distractions," she laughs. Jelly eventually
became friends with a neighborhood goat. 

Owen and her co-workers rented a house on a local
farm, where they had electricity for just eight hours
a day and had to make do with only three liters
of water each for everything - drinking, washing,
bathing. Luckily, because of Jelly, Owen got
additional water.

To get to their "office" - a shack with no walls and a
tin ceiling - the employees had to walk quite a
distance, and because of the heat, they could only
put in five or six hours before heading home. The heat
didn't bother Jelly, though, who learned shortcuts on
paths that were "just wide enough," for the
two of them.

Having the dog in Kenya was a challenge. "People were
terrified," Owen says, "because in Kenya, dogs are not
pets." There are no access laws similar to
the Americans with Disabilities Act, so there were
many occasions when Owen could not bring her guide
when they went sightseeing or shopping.

Reaching Out to Blind Students

Volunteer work was part of their responsibilities
while in Kenya, and in the afternoons, Owen
volunteered at a local school where she learned there
were
14 blind students integrated with the regular class.

"I got to introduce Braille and taught them how to get
around on their own using canes," she says.

Two girls in particular became her shadows. They were
totally blind, she recalls, and "I fell in love with
them." Their parents opened their home to Owen
because they wanted a good role model for their
daughters, to show that being blind didn't mean being
limited.

Owen became so close to the girls' parents that she
promised that should anything happen to them, she
would take care of the girls. 

New Responsibilities

Kenya is a relatively stable country in East Africa,
but even so, Owen and her co-workers still needed to
go everywhere with "askari" - armed guards - because
of the general political unrest in the region. "We
always had guards," she recalls. 

Unfortunately, the family from whom they were renting
their house was threatened, and then their belongings
were stolen, so the next day, Owen and Jelly
and her remaining colleagues left the country for
home.

Owen had already planned to maintain her connection to
Kenya by sending supplies back to the blind school,
but shortly after she returned to Chicago, she
learned that the two little girls to whom she had
grown so attached had been orphaned after their
parents were killed in a fire.

The girls have come to live with her, and Owen is
taking on new responsibilities as a single mother. She
is tutoring them in English, and they are starting
orientation and mobility training; they have already
learned the Braille alphabet.

She is lucky, Owen reflects, that she has a great
support system. Her father lives nearby, and
volunteers from her church have already stepped in to
help.

Although the Kenyan courts formalized Owen's adoption
of the girls pretty quickly, she had to wait for the
paperwork to wend its way through the U.S. legal
system. In July, what she had been waiting for
happened: the adoption was finalized.

Owen is on leave and has transferred to another
position in her company that will cut down on her
traveling. Even when she does have to travel, she
plans
to take her new daughters with her. "I want them to
realize their full potential."

With Joni Owen as their mother, they're off to a good
start.

Photos: (1) On the cover of The Guideway, Joni Owen
and a group of African school children. The caption
reads: Joni Owen (back to camera) addresses a group
of school children in Kwakamba, Kenya. (2) Jo with
Jelly her guide dog. Photos courtesy Joni Owen

The graphic at the end of the story is the flag of
Kenya. Description of the flag: three equal horizontal
bands of black (top), red, and green; the red
band is edged in white; a large warrior's shield
covering crossed spears is superimposed at the center.

This article can be found at: 
http://www.guidedog <http://www.guidedog.org/Pubs/guideway/text/61_2_07.txt>
.org/Pubs/guideway/text/61_2_07.txt

The GuidewayR, the official newsletter of the Guide
Dog Foundation for the Blind, Inc.R William Krol,
editor. It is available in print, on audio, and on
our Web site. We welcome letters, articles or
photographs, but reserve the right to refuse any
material.

The Foundation's postal address is 371 E. Jericho
Turnpike, Smithtown, NY 11787-2976. Phone:
631.930.9000 or 1.800.548.4337. Web site:
www.guidedog.org.

__________________________________________________________
Yahoo! oneSearch: Finally, mobile search 
that gives answers, not web links. 
http://mobile. <http://mobile.yahoo.com/mobileweb/onesearch?refer=1ONXIC>
yahoo.com/mobileweb/onesearch?refer=1ONXIC


__._,_.___ 
Messages
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/K9Scoop/message/690;_ylc=X3oDMTMyamU0aXY4BF9T
Azk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzcwNzQyNTIEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA3NTA1MjQ3BG1zZ0lkAzY5MARzZWMD
ZnRyBHNsawN2dHBjBHN0aW1lAzExOTAyMTY3NDQEdHBjSWQDNjkw> in this topic (1)
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/K9Scoop/post;_ylc=X3oDMTJvdGtucnIwBF9TAzk3MzU
5NzE0BGdycElkAzcwNzQyNTIEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA3NTA1MjQ3BG1zZ0lkAzY5MARzZWMDZnRyBHN
sawNycGx5BHN0aW1lAzExOTAyMTY3NDQ-?act=reply&messageNum=690> Reply (via web
post) | Start
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/K9Scoop/post;_ylc=X3oDMTJldDNlbTIzBF9TAzk3MzU
5NzE0BGdycElkAzcwNzQyNTIEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA3NTA1MjQ3BHNlYwNmdHIEc2xrA250cGMEc3R
pbWUDMTE5MDIxNjc0NA--> a new topic 
Messages
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/K9Scoop/messages;_ylc=X3oDMTJlcDI5anBsBF9TAzk
3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzcwNzQyNTIEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA3NTA1MjQ3BHNlYwNmdHIEc2xrA21zZ3M
Ec3RpbWUDMTE5MDIxNjc0NA-->  
For guide dog handlers assisting guide dog handlers with
advocacy/education-- visit:
www.gdui.org
or
www.nfb-nagdu.org 
 
<http://groups.yahoo.com/;_ylc=X3oDMTJkcTBrbDQwBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzcwN
zQyNTIEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA3NTA1MjQ3BHNlYwNmdHIEc2xrA2dmcARzdGltZQMxMTkwMjE2NzQ0>
Yahoo! Groups 
Change
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/K9Scoop/join;_ylc=X3oDMTJmcjkwdms4BF9TAzk3MzU
5NzE0BGdycElkAzcwNzQyNTIEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA3NTA1MjQ3BHNlYwNmdHIEc2xrA3N0bmdzBHN
0aW1lAzExOTAyMTY3NDQ-> settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required) 
Change settings via email: Switch
<mailto:K9Scoop-digest at yahoogroups.com?subject=Email Delivery: Digest>
delivery to Daily Digest | Switch
<mailto:K9Scoop-traditional at yahoogroups.com?subject=Change Delivery Format:
Traditional> format to Traditional 
Visit
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/K9Scoop;_ylc=X3oDMTJkamhtdmdsBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0
BGdycElkAzcwNzQyNTIEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA3NTA1MjQ3BHNlYwNmdHIEc2xrA2hwZgRzdGltZQMx
MTkwMjE2NzQ0> Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms
<http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/> of Use | Unsubscribe
<mailto:K9Scoop-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com?subject=> 
Visit
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/K9Scoop;_ylc=X3oDMTJlYzBuYnFxBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0
BGdycElkAzcwNzQyNTIEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA3NTA1MjQ3BHNlYwN2dGwEc2xrA3ZnaHAEc3RpbWUD
MTE5MDIxNjc0NA--> Your Group 
Cat Groups

on
<http://us.ard.yahoo.com/SIG=12juguueh/M=493064.11292562.11840176.8674578/D=
groups/S=1707505247:NC/Y=YAHOO/EXP=1190223945/A=4836037/R=0/SIG=11olbte0b/*h
ttp://advision.webevents.yahoo.com/catzone/index.html> Yahoo! Groups

discuss everything

related to cats.

Yoga Resources

on
<http://us.ard.yahoo.com/SIG=12j34lev4/M=493064.10771301.11554070.8674578/D=
groups/S=1707505247:NC/Y=YAHOO/EXP=1190223945/A=4699088/R=0/SIG=11pv8cj55/*h
ttp://advision.webevents.yahoo.com/yogazone/index.html> Yahoo! Groups

Take the stress

out of your life.

Fitness Edge

on
<http://us.ard.yahoo.com/SIG=12jhhfjau/M=493064.11135487.11710473.8674578/D=
groups/S=1707505247:NC/Y=YAHOO/EXP=1190223945/A=4776373/R=0/SIG=11k023rmb/*h
ttp://advision.webevents.yahoo.com/endurancezone/> Yahoo! Groups

Learn how to

increase endurance.

.
 
<http://geo.yahoo.com/serv?s=97359714/grpId=7074252/grpspId=1707505247/msgId
=690/stime=1190216744/nc1=4836037/nc2=4699088/nc3=4776373> 
__,_._,___ 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://nfbcal.org/pipermail/cagdu/attachments/20070919/1e589ba5/attachment.html