Final details for India trip

Just a few confirmations on the India trip - for those that have missed it else where...

We leave home on the 25th when the family who are moving into ours arrives. We then go to London to stay with Dave's parents and then fly lunchtime on the 29th April 2008. We then return lunchtime on the 17th August.

Tickets are booked, visas in place, accommodation sorted both ends (see other entries in the blog) etc etc and we go in nearly 5 weeks!!

In terms of some of the detail of what we will be doing, well.....it's just starting to emerge I think.......

As many of you will know, I go out to India as many years as I can. The main focus of this trip will be to spend a longer period of time working for/with a good friend of ours (Raj Moorthy) who has set up a new charity called ‘The Fishermen Trust’ (see next page). The Trust is only 18 months old but is well connected to other organisations.

Raj (friend from India) and I are still sorting out some of the detail of what we will be doing when we get out there and Raj is mailing a paper to me soon. As far as I can tell so far the elements of what we will be doing are:

• Beginning to build an outreach work to street kids (on train stations) but ensuring/building links with other NGO’s
• Helping to establish the foundational links for the Trusts 1st hostel for street kids
• Helping to establish the foundational links for the Trusts 1st drop in centre for street kids
• Training staff/teams (trustees/team work etc) - see below
• Help with/speak at events Raj is organising. He already has me booked in for speaking at a Church conference and camps for young people.

I have been working on what training we can offer over the next few years with a good friend of mine who runs a people development consultancy called Space2think. Rob will be coming out to India for a week on hi own (for an intensive time of training) and then his wife and kids joining him for 2 further weeks.

Our list of training options at the moment extends to topics like:

Role of trustees
Organisational principles
Exploring Maslow
Networking and partnerships
Developing projects & planning
Setting & monitoring performance measures (targets)
Being accountable
Business planning
Change management
Diversity and Equal Opportunities issues
Professionalism Safeguard and promote the values and mission
Developing your Christian ethos

Team roles & team working
Developing and leading teams
Managing teams in a dispersed setting
Group Facilitation
Releasing the potential in yourself and others
Taking personal responsibility

Personal development
Working with integrity
Openness
Time management
Understanding the management role
Becoming an effective leader

Making professional presentations
Personality types
Performance management & practicing self assessment
Continuing professional development
Coaching and supervision skills
Supervision and support

The leader manager
Recruitment and selection
Dealing with stress

Developing empathy
Listening skills
Assertiveness
Institute of Leadership and Management qualifications
Outdoor pursuits programmes for holistic development

Risk
Protection from abuse issues
Confidentiality
The internet
E Mail

The plan is obviously not to deliver all this in the week we have (!!) but start to work with raj and any other contacts we can meet with to see how we can be of service to guys out there in equipping them in these areas.

As well as the general aim of working with Raj, I am clear about the fact that opportunities like this do not come around that often so we want part of our time in India to be an opportunity to spend some quality time with my family and get time to do a bit of a ‘life review’!

So....that's it for now. If you are not on our e mail list for India do contact us and we can add you......