Tomorrow I am flying to Uganda for a very joyous and probably tear-filled reunion with Natalie for 14 hours before flying on to Kenya.
I am away for 3.5 weeks, and yesterday a very wonderful gentleman at church asked if I would send him a detailed plan of the trip, so that he can pray for me, and the work I'll be doing on each day.
Having written it out for him, I thought I would also post it here, as I know many of you also are interested in what is going on, and are generous in your prayers.
So, this is the plan for the next 3.5 weeks, in case you are interested:
Thursday 20th March
- I fly to Uganda, arriving at 2230 local time (1930 GMT). Natalie will be meeting me at the airport and after the hugs and tears of joy we will spend the night at a nearby motel.
Friday 21st March
- morning of catching up and praying and just enjoying some time together for Natalie and I
- lunchtime I go to the airport and Natalie returns to Kampala with my second bag which is full of resources and treats for her
- afternoon I fly to Nairobi. I will be met by Kenyanito Dudi who is programme manager for Spurgeons Academy, one of CRED's partners and the school in Kibera slum that we take teams to. Kenyanito and I work together to sort out the Nairobi teams, although I also play a more general supportive role in my CRED partner support capacity. We will spend the evening catching up, being with his family, and general chat
Saturday 22nd March
- Rozzie gets home from University
- I fly up to Eldoret which is a largish town in NW Kenya. I will be leading a team there February 2015, and have to do some ground work with all the logistics and risk assessment side of things.
I will be staying with good friends Dave and Linda who are missionaries in Eldoret, so Saturday will be spent catching up with them, as well as visiting possible accommodation options, sussing out local medical facilities, and driving past the potential school that the team will be working in, so I can risk assess the general area which is the largest slum in Eldoret.
Sunday 23rd March
- church in the morning, relaxing with friends in the afternoon - a day of rest!
Monday 24th March
- meeting with the local school that the 2015 team will work in. This will include meeting staff, explaining proposed input, agreeing on actual plans for the team, risk assessing the school, finding out all required details about the school etc. It is a very poor school, so one major task will be keeping their expectations in line with what we can deliver - the perception of rich white people going over with lots of resources is one I have to be careful to sensitively address.
- meeting with local transport provider to discuss transport provision for the team, checking they meet requirements re safety standards etc
- ensuring I have all necessary details for compiling a thorough Risk assessment, and preparing the 2015 team
Tuesday 25th March
- day spent with Open Arms International - a charity I used to work for who have their Kenya base in Eldoret.
whilst with them I will be catching up with friends, discussing possible team accommodation, handing out letters to the Open Arms students from Tockington Manor students (there is a school link), and gathering some stories to take back for the Tockington Manor school assembly
Wednesday 26th March
- early am: fly to Nairobi
- spend the day with Kenyanito and visiting Spurgeons Academy. Between Wednesday and Thursday I have to:
confirm and risk assess accommodation for the summer 2014 team,
finalise all details for the 2014 team re itinerary, transport, risk assessment details
meet with the headteacher and social worker to discuss training details that two of the team will be doing
visit the school to see how the rebuild is coming on, and confirm amount of space available for the team to use
hand out sponsor letters and meet the children
meet with Kenyanito to discuss wider issues regarding Spurgeons Academy
Thursday 27th March
- finish off the list from yesterday!
Also on Thursday Tim and Rozzie fly to Uganda, arriving late in the evening. They will stay at a motel near the airport, as will Simon Paylor (CRED Director), who is spending the Friday and Saturday with us visiting the Uganda CRED partner projects.
Friday 28th March
- I fly early morning from Nairobi to Uganda. Met by Natalie, and then we go and collect Tim, Rozzie and Simon from the motel. Lots of hugs all round, then back to Kampala accommodation.
we stay with John and Sophie Njendahayo at their family home, which is where we also stay when I take teams out. John runs Link International, a CRED partner, and it is through him that Natalie has been linked with the Acholi community, and will later get involved in some of his other projects. John and Sophie open their home to us, and also have two guest apartments on site as well, so plenty of space.
Friday afternoon, and Saturday 29th March
visiting the various projects that John Nj is involved in - Acholi community, rural medical and dental clinic, slum schools, street kids. These will be opportunities for Simon to see the work that Link is doing from a CRED perspective, and for Tim and Rozzie to see the projects that Natalie is working in, and that I love so much and keep coming back to. And a chance for Natalie to introduce us to her acholi friends, and for me to visit old friends.
I will also have to keep in mind the 3 Uganda team trips I have later this year, as there are various details to be sorted at each project
Sunday 30th March
- maybe church in the morning, or a coffee shop visit. NB when the girls were still at home a special treat for us would be 'Starbucks Sunday' when we went to the local Starbucks and enjoyed just being together, sipping our favourite latte, chatting, and having a phone-free zone. This practice might be reintroduced this day as it is the one Sunday we are all together!
- afternoon Simon departs for CRED work in Ethiopia, and the Harrisons relax, maybe at the nearby pool.
Monday 31st March
- a day trip to Jinja - source of the Nile and a bit of a touristy town. Its also a place that I need to risk assess and reccy for a team trip in October, so I'll be doing that at the same time
Tuesday 1st April til Thursday 3rd April
- drive to Murchison Falls National Park and spend 2 night there at the lodge. will do a boat safari, and relax together.
back to Kampala thursday evening
Friday 4th April
- tbc. Last day for Tim and Roz, so will make it up on the day
Saturday 5th April
- Tim and Rozzie fly home
- Natalie and I have day together, plans unknown, but will see if any outstanding team details to sort
Sunday 6th April
- church? pool?
Monday 7th April
- I fly ridiculously early to Zambia to visit a CRED partner there. This is the first time I have visited Chisomo project and pastor Aaron who runs it, so it is partly just finding out more about it, but also considering if it is an option for team trips in the future etc.
Tuesday 8th and Wednesday 9th April
- continue to learn about Chisomo, meeting relevant people, visiting relevant places in case it is a team trip venue so that I will be able to do the intinerary and have required evidence and knowledge for risk assessment
Thursday 10th April
- back to Kampala
Friday 11th April
- visit a project about 2 hours outside Kampala in Mukono district. This is one that is new to me, but has been requested as one of the projects for the 360 trip later in the year. I will be meeting the staff of the project, learning about the work, sorting out details of possible work if the team visited, and as always doing the obligatory risk assessment checks
Saturday 12th April
- final day with Natalie, so something special, but not yet planned!
- fly home overnight
Sunday 13th April - Palm Sunday
- arrive back at Bristol airport early morning, so hopefully will get to church for at least the final song!
And that's the trip! Long, busy, but exciting. And a real blessing to have time with Natalie, and with the family all of us together.
thank you so much for your prayers
Helen
PS will be blogging as I go!
I am away for 3.5 weeks, and yesterday a very wonderful gentleman at church asked if I would send him a detailed plan of the trip, so that he can pray for me, and the work I'll be doing on each day.
Having written it out for him, I thought I would also post it here, as I know many of you also are interested in what is going on, and are generous in your prayers.
So, this is the plan for the next 3.5 weeks, in case you are interested:
Thursday 20th March
- I fly to Uganda, arriving at 2230 local time (1930 GMT). Natalie will be meeting me at the airport and after the hugs and tears of joy we will spend the night at a nearby motel.
Friday 21st March
- morning of catching up and praying and just enjoying some time together for Natalie and I
- lunchtime I go to the airport and Natalie returns to Kampala with my second bag which is full of resources and treats for her
- afternoon I fly to Nairobi. I will be met by Kenyanito Dudi who is programme manager for Spurgeons Academy, one of CRED's partners and the school in Kibera slum that we take teams to. Kenyanito and I work together to sort out the Nairobi teams, although I also play a more general supportive role in my CRED partner support capacity. We will spend the evening catching up, being with his family, and general chat
Saturday 22nd March
- Rozzie gets home from University
- I fly up to Eldoret which is a largish town in NW Kenya. I will be leading a team there February 2015, and have to do some ground work with all the logistics and risk assessment side of things.
I will be staying with good friends Dave and Linda who are missionaries in Eldoret, so Saturday will be spent catching up with them, as well as visiting possible accommodation options, sussing out local medical facilities, and driving past the potential school that the team will be working in, so I can risk assess the general area which is the largest slum in Eldoret.
Sunday 23rd March
- church in the morning, relaxing with friends in the afternoon - a day of rest!
Monday 24th March
- meeting with the local school that the 2015 team will work in. This will include meeting staff, explaining proposed input, agreeing on actual plans for the team, risk assessing the school, finding out all required details about the school etc. It is a very poor school, so one major task will be keeping their expectations in line with what we can deliver - the perception of rich white people going over with lots of resources is one I have to be careful to sensitively address.
- meeting with local transport provider to discuss transport provision for the team, checking they meet requirements re safety standards etc
- ensuring I have all necessary details for compiling a thorough Risk assessment, and preparing the 2015 team
Tuesday 25th March
- day spent with Open Arms International - a charity I used to work for who have their Kenya base in Eldoret.
whilst with them I will be catching up with friends, discussing possible team accommodation, handing out letters to the Open Arms students from Tockington Manor students (there is a school link), and gathering some stories to take back for the Tockington Manor school assembly
Wednesday 26th March
- early am: fly to Nairobi
- spend the day with Kenyanito and visiting Spurgeons Academy. Between Wednesday and Thursday I have to:
confirm and risk assess accommodation for the summer 2014 team,
finalise all details for the 2014 team re itinerary, transport, risk assessment details
meet with the headteacher and social worker to discuss training details that two of the team will be doing
visit the school to see how the rebuild is coming on, and confirm amount of space available for the team to use
hand out sponsor letters and meet the children
meet with Kenyanito to discuss wider issues regarding Spurgeons Academy
Thursday 27th March
- finish off the list from yesterday!
Also on Thursday Tim and Rozzie fly to Uganda, arriving late in the evening. They will stay at a motel near the airport, as will Simon Paylor (CRED Director), who is spending the Friday and Saturday with us visiting the Uganda CRED partner projects.
Friday 28th March
- I fly early morning from Nairobi to Uganda. Met by Natalie, and then we go and collect Tim, Rozzie and Simon from the motel. Lots of hugs all round, then back to Kampala accommodation.
we stay with John and Sophie Njendahayo at their family home, which is where we also stay when I take teams out. John runs Link International, a CRED partner, and it is through him that Natalie has been linked with the Acholi community, and will later get involved in some of his other projects. John and Sophie open their home to us, and also have two guest apartments on site as well, so plenty of space.
Friday afternoon, and Saturday 29th March
visiting the various projects that John Nj is involved in - Acholi community, rural medical and dental clinic, slum schools, street kids. These will be opportunities for Simon to see the work that Link is doing from a CRED perspective, and for Tim and Rozzie to see the projects that Natalie is working in, and that I love so much and keep coming back to. And a chance for Natalie to introduce us to her acholi friends, and for me to visit old friends.
I will also have to keep in mind the 3 Uganda team trips I have later this year, as there are various details to be sorted at each project
Sunday 30th March
- maybe church in the morning, or a coffee shop visit. NB when the girls were still at home a special treat for us would be 'Starbucks Sunday' when we went to the local Starbucks and enjoyed just being together, sipping our favourite latte, chatting, and having a phone-free zone. This practice might be reintroduced this day as it is the one Sunday we are all together!
- afternoon Simon departs for CRED work in Ethiopia, and the Harrisons relax, maybe at the nearby pool.
Monday 31st March
- a day trip to Jinja - source of the Nile and a bit of a touristy town. Its also a place that I need to risk assess and reccy for a team trip in October, so I'll be doing that at the same time
Tuesday 1st April til Thursday 3rd April
- drive to Murchison Falls National Park and spend 2 night there at the lodge. will do a boat safari, and relax together.
back to Kampala thursday evening
Friday 4th April
- tbc. Last day for Tim and Roz, so will make it up on the day
Saturday 5th April
- Tim and Rozzie fly home
- Natalie and I have day together, plans unknown, but will see if any outstanding team details to sort
Sunday 6th April
- church? pool?
Monday 7th April
- I fly ridiculously early to Zambia to visit a CRED partner there. This is the first time I have visited Chisomo project and pastor Aaron who runs it, so it is partly just finding out more about it, but also considering if it is an option for team trips in the future etc.
Tuesday 8th and Wednesday 9th April
- continue to learn about Chisomo, meeting relevant people, visiting relevant places in case it is a team trip venue so that I will be able to do the intinerary and have required evidence and knowledge for risk assessment
Thursday 10th April
- back to Kampala
Friday 11th April
- visit a project about 2 hours outside Kampala in Mukono district. This is one that is new to me, but has been requested as one of the projects for the 360 trip later in the year. I will be meeting the staff of the project, learning about the work, sorting out details of possible work if the team visited, and as always doing the obligatory risk assessment checks
Saturday 12th April
- final day with Natalie, so something special, but not yet planned!
- fly home overnight
Sunday 13th April - Palm Sunday
- arrive back at Bristol airport early morning, so hopefully will get to church for at least the final song!
And that's the trip! Long, busy, but exciting. And a real blessing to have time with Natalie, and with the family all of us together.
thank you so much for your prayers
Helen
PS will be blogging as I go!
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