Its Global Venture time!

Hi, Morgan Phillips (Global Footsteps Director) here!

Howard, Alice, Aby and I are all getting very excited about our Global Venture to Kisumu, Cheltenham's friendship link town in Kenya. We'll be leaving on Sunday on a flight to Nairobi, where we'll spend two nights at the YMCA. From there we will move on to the Elsamere Centre in the Great Rift Valley for four nights. It will then be on to Kisumu for 10 days of cultural linking! With a bit of luck I'll be able to update this blog regularly with stories, photos and videos so that you can see what we are up to! Below is an outline of what each of us will be getting up to while we are there.

Aims of Visit

Aby Morley
Aby is an art student here in Cheltenham , she is very interested in crafts, particularly 'jua kali' and would very much like to swap skills with local craftspeople in Kisumu. She, with Alice, will be responsible for purchasing handmade jewellery and crafts for sale at Rendezvous.

Alice Matthews
Alice is the same age as Aby and is currently taking a 'gap' year after finishing school. She will start a degree in Education in September. Alice is keen to visit local schools, she, along with myself and the others will be very happy to talk to the children about life in the UK. We would all love to visit all types of school.

Howard Marshall
(1). Establish Ethnic & Faith Reflection of Kisumu.
(2). Find out the effects on Kisumu since US election of Barrack Obama to the White House.
(3). Take official Letters of Greetings from Civic Officials in Cheltenham such as the Towns: Mayor, Member of Parliament & Chairman of Twinning to the: Mayor of Kisumu.
(4). Re establish links with St. Lukes Anglican Church & promote awareness of St. Gregorys Roman Catholic Church in Kisumu, with the RC community here in Cheltenham.
(5). Find out if either of these churches have connections with schools.
(6). To contact both St. Johns Primary School (St. Lukes Link) & St. Gregorys RC School with a view to input from their pupils that I can take to Kisumu. Take letters of greeting from their Head Teachers.
(7). Visit the above Churches & Schools in Kisumu.
(8). Establish how we can help the above in furthering their aims & objectives with links with Gloucestershire.

Morgan Phillips
My main role will be to ensure that as much as possible of the above happens smoothly.
I will also be promoting our next footsteps conference: Footstep 12 in Cadca, Slovakia (August 2010). I am hoping to meet and interview potential participants. To do this I will be visiting schools, universities and cultural centres to find suitable candidates.

I am hoping to meet some environmentalists to discuss environmental issues affecting Kenya, especially the impacts of Climate Change.

I will be working with Cadif Kenya http://www.cadifkenya.interconnection.org/ to help them with funding and volunteers.

We will also be making a film and radio programme to document our experiences.