Arriving on One Happy Island

The 23^rd August was a very long day, but one that ended with our arrival in Aruba: ‘One Happy Island’ as the carpet at the airport proclaimed. Our journey, summed up in facts and figures looked a little bit like this:

Arriving after dark last night, the island sparkled with all the lights and looked like a firework with the illuminated cruise ships heading out into the Caribbean Sea from Oranjestad. We went met at the airport by a fantastically warm welcome from a local leader (Anneline) and two pioneers (Anna and Angela) who helped us navigate the island and find our accommodation.

As we drove to our apartments, Anna and Angela tried to orientate us to the island: the airport’s sort of in the middle on the south coast, we’re staying further east in Pos Chiquito, Noord is in the north of the island and Santa Cruz is right in the middle. Along Route 1 from the airport, we saw the ‘Green Corridor’ works on this main road and past the desalination plant which provides the islands drinking water and Balashi Brewery (we’ve been recommended to sample their wares while we’re here). We were humbled by the young women’s language skills (they speak four languages) especially when we were so tired we were struggling with English ourselves. Having got up at 6am UK time (1am Aruban time), it was 22 hours later when we finally went to bed.

We’ll meet with the board soon to confirm plans for the next three weeks of project, but we anticipate that we will be going to group meetings for Padvinsters and Pioneers in Dakota, San Nicolas, Pos Chiquito and Saveneta, running activities at a camp on our second weekend, and working with community groups in the same districts to encourage them to become leaders! 

Final Preparations and a Few Home Comforts

It's finally here. The last weekend and penultimate opportunity for packing before our departure for Aruba. The team are very excited as we fill out suitcases, holdalls and rucksacks with lots of important items. Each team member has a special role to fulfil and each will need equipment to help them in that task. But at the same time we will be away for three weeks and everyone will need a few home comforts from time to time. Here we have an update from each of us on the priority items we're packing:

Helen - Team Leader

As Team Leader, Helen will need to have all the essential bits and pieces to ensure we are a well co-ordinated unit. And if you're going to carry a lot of stuff then you need a suitable rucksack. Inspired by her GOLD team leader last year, Helen has invested in a special new day sack for this trip with lots of pockets! Her home comfort (provided he fits in) is 'Polo' her teddy.

Bridget - First Aider

Bridget is our team first aider, and having heard about the climate in Aruba we think sun and heat might be the biggest change from the UK. As such Bridget is packing a battery powered fan to keep us cool. Doubling up on home comforts, she's packing some favourite teas and her teddy 'Athabasca'.

Amy - Treasurer

As our treasurer, Amy will need to keep track of our budget and so she's downloaded a special app to record all of our receipts and manage our spending. Amy's currently packing, so we'll add in her home comfort when she's been able to decide what'll fit within the weight limit for our flights!

Rachel - Training and Resources Co-ordinator

Ready for all our training sessions, Rachel is coming prepared with a trusty pencils case full of useful writing implements. Similarly, her home comfort is also cuddly - 'Simba' will also be coming along for the ride.

Laura - Photo and Video Co-ordinator

Laura is in charge of capturing our experience on film, so her top priority to pack is her new camera. Laura's a fan of all things sheep, so 'Shaun' is one of her home comforts, along with some sweet treats for the journey and marshmallows for a BBQ one night during our stay.

Pippa - Written Documenter

As written documenter, I'll be co-ordinating our blog entries, social media reports and making sure we write stuff down to use in our final reports. I'm packing a laptop to help us with task (as well as for keeping track of the budget and looking up any last minute ideas for our sessions). Like Laura, I want to take a bar of Bournville dark chocolate as my home comfort - but I haven't bought it yet so I better head to the shop and make sure it gets in the bag!

Our next update will come after we've set out on our project - stay tuned to our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for updates!

It's Infographic Time!

As of this week our flights are booked and the dates for our project are set. Rather than bore you with a long story about the logistics of our trip, we've boiled it down to some key numbers and represented them in this infographic: