Author Archives: cburgess1

Rainbows

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Last night, 2nd Beacon Rainbows (St. Peters) did a sponsored skip raising £71 for Chennai Challenge. They were amazing!! Each girl skipped for about 5 minutes in the corner of the room while the others made a dream catcher, then they swapped. So during the whole night at Rainbows there was always a little Rainbow skipping in the corner. They were allowed to stop for a drink of water though. ;) Image

They skipped like crazy!! One or two girls did claim that they “couldn’t skip” but they all managed to attempt something that resembled skipping, they shared the skipping ropes with each other and tried their very best. They had loads of sponsors from family and friends and even sponsored themselves with pocket money. Well done girls!! :D

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This weekend…

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I have very little to do on a Thursday so I thought I might as well write a short blog.

This weekend the Chennai Challenge team of 2012 will be setting off to London for a weekend of training. I’m sure it will be filled with silly songs and dances and possibly even a snazzy PowerPoint presentation, but that’s all part of the fun of Chennai Challenge.

The YMCA boys certainly don’t mind us acting like complete fools. That’s probably one of the strangest qualities I’ve gained from going to India with Chennai Challenge; there’s nothing wrong with being a bit silly. That’s part of being outside of my comfort zone and without that we wouldn’t be prepared for the amazing work we are going to do in August.

Yet again this year I am amazed at people’s generosity and not just with their money. They have generously given their time and even promised their homes for evening events. Without them a curry night that has been organised and even a sausage and mash night would be completely impossible. My church this year has helped so much already.

As promised only a  short blog but just remember it’s perfectly fine to act like a monkey (Isaac) because it puts a smile on a small Indian boy’s face. And that is good. :)

India was awesome

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Its been just over a week since I arrived back to the U.K and Team B have just landed at Heathrow Airport. India was awesome and I already want to go back next year. I surprisingly miss the food, the people and of course the boys from YMCA Boys Town.

As soon as I left the airport with my parents I realised how cold it was, I was frozen. I slept most of the car journey home because it was so quiet, it was odd not being kept awake by the constant car horn or the shout of an auto cab driver.

I also miss the Chennai Challenge Team, from Flo dancing her way through most of the boys programs, Emma/ Nick my mentors, Ellie/Lydia and their annoying yet amusing hiccups, Suzanne who managed to get Team B to India, Barney who ended up having a different nickname everyday, Tamsin and Caitlin leaders of the amazing Purple Team, Kieron kept his winning Yelligri group under control by shouting ‘Attention!’, Joel who seemed to eat everything, Suzie who was Emma’s amazing  partner and loved playing UNO, James who seemed to know every Disney song as he sang his way back to Vepery along with Rachel who was Barney’s super Yelligri partner, Lizzie my fabulous Yelligri partner along with Joel, and Imogen who danced so her group wouldn’t get bored and last but not least Sarah who saved me from falling out of an auto!  We all brought something different and special to make the Chennai Challenge Team of 2011 amazing from any other year, its one of the main reasons i want to return again.

Not forgetting Cathy, Rob and Isaac who are sort of the role models for the whole thing. If there was a piece of advice I could offer anyone going on Chennai Challenge it would be;

‘Stick a smile on your face, do a silly dance and you’ll fit in just fine’ :)

Blue Edge

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Today some of the group went to Blue Edge to help with an English lesson, it was very rewarding and enjoyable. They really made me smile and showed me how much  they appreciated their education, we did some role play pretending be shop keepers and overlooked an exciting game of Pictionary. It was very overwhelming to see the difference in the local community change as we drove in Auto Rickshaws through the slums, the place we are staying is luxury compared to that!  However going to Blue Edge was a very beneficial part of the day for me.

Charlotte

I can’t wait!

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I am so excited about going to india! I can’t wait for Wednesday, going to the airport, actually flying and remembering my passport. I can’t wait to try loads of Indian food and buy a sari.

 I will miss my family and friends but can’t wait to see my bedroom which they are decorating while I am away. I can’t wait to be challenged and see lots of new people.

I can’t wait to see and realise the difference we make while we are over there!

India here I come!