Starting this Saturday (16th February), I'm spending an week in India with the charity WaterAid. I'll be meeting some of the people who work for WaterAid and more importantly I'll be meeting some of the people in the communities that are being given access to safe water and sanitation to get a real chance to understand what difference it makes to their lives.
Why is the trip on and why am I going you might be asking ?
Each year, a selection of employees from across the UK water industry are invited on a trip to one of WaterAid's country programmes. They are drawn from the volunteers who help raise funds for WaterAid and the trip has a two-fold purpose, the first has been mentioned above and the second is to generate media coverage around the UK both before and after the trip takes place, helping raise awareness.
I've been a supporter and fundraiser for WaterAid since around 2000 helping to organise sponsored events in Derbyshire through the company I work for - Severn Trent Water. This year I've been selected as the Severn Trent representative on the trip which I'm really proud and excited about.
The motley crew in the photo are the members of our trip, I've only met them once at a briefing in London but I think we'll get to know each other quite well during our visit. We've got a lot of travelling to do and we're all preparing ourselves for what may well be an emotional roller coaster as we journey through the central region of Madhya Pradesh meeting people who are just like us, striving for the same things we do - good health for our families and friends, education and good prospects for our children but with many more challenges than we face. I think we'll realise just how much we take for granted back home !
Saturday is just around the corner, how ready am I ?
Packing is nearly complete, have some final bits to sort and my checklist to go through. The pile of stuff is growing on the spare bed but no doubt I will forget something. Camera batteries are charged and memory cards are empty. We've been told to pack light but hopefully I won't have gone too far with that. I've bought a new book for the journey which I need to not finish before I get off the plane. Must also remember to start my malaria tablets on Friday.
In a very British way, I've been looking at the weather and we'll be going from single figures here (degrees C) to the mid to high twenties in India according to the current forecast.
So that's all talk about the practical parts of getting ready - the emotional preparation is probably a bit more difficult to acheive. I'm guessing there will be some crying as well as laughing along the way depending on how we react to what we see, the people we meet and the stories they tell us and I guess that's what the rest of this blog is going to be about ...
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