Roland Poirier (Jr.)
HE DID IT!
Roland's 'Alone in the woods' challenge began on December 20th, and he completed his 100 hour challenge on Christmas Eve! The real challenge was the record snow fall that came down a couple of days before he left.
See below for Roland's post-challenge comments, as well as a couple of videos, including the last video of the trip where Roland obviously had some time and solitude to offer us some great perspective.
If you haven't sponsored him but still want to, you certainly can! All funds will support 'Partners in Hope Tanzania' and the community of Mwalwigi.
To donate:
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Online using a credit card, indicate "Alone - Roland Jr." in the comment section:
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In Canada go to:
https://gcfcanada.com/partners-in-hope-tanzania/ -
For US donors, go to:
https://friendsgc.com/partners-in-hope-tanzania/
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To pay by cheque: **
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In Canada: make your cheque payable to: “Great Commission Foundation” and mail to:
Great Commission Foundation, PO Box 14006, Abbotsford, B.C. V2T 0B4 -
In the USA: make your cheque payable to "Friends of the Great Commission" and mail to
Friends of the Great Commission, PO Box 6305, Colorado Springs, CO 80904
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**In the note section of the cheque indicate “Partners in Hope Tanzania - Alone - Roland Jr.”
Roland's post-challenge letter:
Hello Everyone,
I want to extend my sincerest gratitude for your support in this challenge. This really tested my limits for discomfort as I didn't eat for the entire challenge and faced cold temperatures and moisture from melting snow. Some additional thoughts on what went better or worse than I expected are:
Better Than Expected:
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Fear at Night: With the prevalence of coyotes in the area and reports of a bear sighting a couple weeks prior to me heading out, I really expected to have a little bit of trouble sleeping at night (at least for the first night). This wasn't the case at all, I was really comfortable out there and thoroughly enjoyed the nighttime animal sounds from owls, deer, and other visitors that hung around my camp. Several deer stepped right into my own boot prints from the day before.
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Hunger Pains: I also was pretty aware of the potential that I wouldn't be eating adequately, or at all, and was worried what that would feel like. I don't know if I have the slowest metabolism in the universe, or if 4 days just isn't long enough, but I never felt cramps or other types of pains from hunger. If anything it felt good to give my system a rest after the holiday feast from the weekend before.
Worse Than Expected:
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Cold: The cold was relentless and it really imposed itself on me. There is something seriously disquieting about the idea that you need to constantly do things to manage your body temp. or be forced to quit. Fortunately, I never crossed over from discomfort into being dangerously cold at any point, but I was certainly uncomfortable quite a bit.
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Dehydration: I didn't properly think through how to secure and process water on this trip. Melting snow takes a TON of firewood and I underestimated that a lot. Making matters worse, the moisture from the snow makes creating a fire more of a challenge. The morning of Day 3 left me tired, achy, and generally disoriented from lack of adequate water. This was the only time during the trip that I was a little bit worried (a couple of my videos elaborate on this as well).
Overall, I have found a new appreciation for hot showers, warm beds, and HVAC the past day and night. My love of the outdoors remains unchecked but it is a lot more fun when you hit it after a solid night's sleep and quality food and water. I hope that everyone is having a wonderful holiday break and, again, I want to thank you very much for your generous support.
As my wife Courtney mentioned, these Alone challenges have been able to fully fund the bedding and mosquito nets for the children at the Mitindo school! We have requested that some additional funds will go to sunscreen and hats as skin cancer is another serious challenge for albino children in this region.
Any other funding will be allocated by the boards of YouFeedThem and Partners for Hope Tanzania in collaboration with the local community based organization that manages the orphanage and school in Tanzania. I am told they have a water-well project underway in need of funding as well as plans for expanding agricultural programs that generate revenue for the school.
Thank you so much and I hope to connect with each of you soon,
Roland
DECEMBER 23-24 Updates
Last Video update of the challenge:
DECEMBER 22 Update
DECEMBER 21 Update
Roland resides in Albany, NY and his 'Alone in the woods' challenge was for 100 hours in the Adirondack woods of New York State. His challenge began December 20th at noon, and ended at 4pm, Christmas Eve!
The ten items he brought with him were: 1) tent
2) sleeping bag 3) sleeping pad 3) cooking pot 5) lighter
6) shotgun 7) muzzle loader 8) axe 9) Multi-tool, and
10) fishing equipment
Note: clothing, cell phone and charger can be brought and do not count as any of the ten items.
Roland's challenge supported the projects of "Partners in Hope Tanzania" through "The Great Commission Foundation".
Roland enjoys spending as much time outdoors as possible, hiking, hunting, fishing, and on his property where he's started an apple orchard.
Would you like to enter as a Participant
and have your friends/family sponsor you for a great cause?
Send us an email, and:
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Attach a picture of yourself;
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Let us know the date you'll leave and how many hours you’re going to challenge yourself to; and
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Provide your list of TEN ITEMS that you will take with you.
Don’t forget your cell phone and car charger. These DO NOT count as one of your 10 items.