In less than 48 hours I'll be on a plane bound for Kampala - big smiles :-) - I love that place, and in particular the lovely John and Sophie Njendahayo who are our hosts.
The team arrive the following evening, giving me a day to do some final 'on the ground' prep for this team, and also some advance prep for another team who are going to be pioneering some new CRED work with the Acholi people, running basic literacy and numeracy workshops for the children who don't go to school.
The team that's going out this time round is going to be working with the staff and children of Retrak, an NGO that works with street kids, providing health and social care, catch up education and reconciliation services to those who want it, to help them get back home. We'll be supporting the catch-up education side of things and have got a great week planned.
The only slight hiccup is that since I was last out there the leadership at Retrak have changed, so that the folks who I did the initial planning with are mostly not there. I've been liaising with the new manager, and I'm sure it will all be fine but I must admit I'm glad I have that day out there before the team arrives, just to meet the staff in person and clarify exactly what we are hoping to do, and iron out any potential glitches!
From there for me it's on to India, via a 7 hour layover at Dubai airport (apparently the 2nd largest airport in the world, so plenty of time to get lost, and find myself again!). There I will hook up with the India CRED team, and we will go down to Andhra Pradesh to spend a week at St Josephs school in Nallejeerla.
That should all be fine as well, done the trip before, school have hosted us before and know the format. But, the known unknown on this trip (as opposed to the unknown unknown's, if you see what I mean!) is the impact of random strikes taking place by various sections of Andhra Pradesh workforce. It's all to do with a possible splitting of the state, and depending on whether it does or doesn't split, and which side of the vote certain people are on, the outcome could be power cuts, internet down, teachers unhappy.....
Thankfully we are with people who want us to be there, and are being transported by school drivers, and cooked for by friends of the school, so I suspect the worst that will happen is some of us can't charge phones / laptops etc, and the blog doesn't get posted on some days; but feel free to send out a prayer for us all that the strikes would not cause any major impact.
So, some exciting journeys, with some excellent young people who have put lots of time and effort into preparing their sessions, and are all going with open minds, looking forward to serving others and to discovering more about the world of which they are part.
Yes there will be adventures along the way, and many stories to come back, and yes the young people, and adults alike, will all come back changed in some way and with a new view on life. And the young people they serve will be left with new knowledge, and new experiences of learning, and a greater understanding about people from other parts of the world, and an awareness that there are people around the world who love and care about them enough to journey out to be with them.
There might be some glitches, and moments of frustration when plans don't work out - but that all adds to the story of the trip, and increases the personal development of those involved (especially me if it is anything logistical, which is my key leadership role).
I'll keep you posted along the way and there will also be posts on the cred team trips blog: credfoundation.blogspot.com.
The team arrive the following evening, giving me a day to do some final 'on the ground' prep for this team, and also some advance prep for another team who are going to be pioneering some new CRED work with the Acholi people, running basic literacy and numeracy workshops for the children who don't go to school.
The team that's going out this time round is going to be working with the staff and children of Retrak, an NGO that works with street kids, providing health and social care, catch up education and reconciliation services to those who want it, to help them get back home. We'll be supporting the catch-up education side of things and have got a great week planned.
The only slight hiccup is that since I was last out there the leadership at Retrak have changed, so that the folks who I did the initial planning with are mostly not there. I've been liaising with the new manager, and I'm sure it will all be fine but I must admit I'm glad I have that day out there before the team arrives, just to meet the staff in person and clarify exactly what we are hoping to do, and iron out any potential glitches!
From there for me it's on to India, via a 7 hour layover at Dubai airport (apparently the 2nd largest airport in the world, so plenty of time to get lost, and find myself again!). There I will hook up with the India CRED team, and we will go down to Andhra Pradesh to spend a week at St Josephs school in Nallejeerla.
That should all be fine as well, done the trip before, school have hosted us before and know the format. But, the known unknown on this trip (as opposed to the unknown unknown's, if you see what I mean!) is the impact of random strikes taking place by various sections of Andhra Pradesh workforce. It's all to do with a possible splitting of the state, and depending on whether it does or doesn't split, and which side of the vote certain people are on, the outcome could be power cuts, internet down, teachers unhappy.....
Thankfully we are with people who want us to be there, and are being transported by school drivers, and cooked for by friends of the school, so I suspect the worst that will happen is some of us can't charge phones / laptops etc, and the blog doesn't get posted on some days; but feel free to send out a prayer for us all that the strikes would not cause any major impact.
So, some exciting journeys, with some excellent young people who have put lots of time and effort into preparing their sessions, and are all going with open minds, looking forward to serving others and to discovering more about the world of which they are part.
Yes there will be adventures along the way, and many stories to come back, and yes the young people, and adults alike, will all come back changed in some way and with a new view on life. And the young people they serve will be left with new knowledge, and new experiences of learning, and a greater understanding about people from other parts of the world, and an awareness that there are people around the world who love and care about them enough to journey out to be with them.
There might be some glitches, and moments of frustration when plans don't work out - but that all adds to the story of the trip, and increases the personal development of those involved (especially me if it is anything logistical, which is my key leadership role).
I'll keep you posted along the way and there will also be posts on the cred team trips blog: credfoundation.blogspot.com.
So, plenty for you to read, and thanks in advance for any prayers that get said on our behalf.
For now though - time to pack, and this afternoon am chatting to staff from a project in Mexico!
More about that later perhaps :-)
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