Raleigh India 09C fires up!

So the dust has been blown off the keyboards, the office swept out and the Raleigh India 2009 advance team has hit the ground running.

And we say running rather literally. Our new Deputy Programme Manager Dani dragged everyone (well, those willing, anyway) out of bed at a rather unsociable hour for our first morning at Field Base and took us through the new “Raleigh Boot Camp”.

Fortunately she only made the handful of rather jetlagged Advance Team members run up about 50 of the 1100 steps which wind up the side of Chumundi Hill which stands sentry Field Base. Dani has suggested that by the end of Raleigh, we’ll be doing the whole lot although the rest of us think that will be wishful thinking.

That said, It was quite fun to get out in the cool of the morning and watch as the city of Mysore came to life, complete with tea shops, monkeys, cows (more on those later) and locals wondering what on earth this bunch of people wearing Raleigh t-shirts was doing marching in file at 7am.
We were even joined by driver 60/60 who showed a particular gift for marching, helped by able Country Programme Manager Mark Ashby.

For the rest of our second day at Field Base, the Advance Team hit Mysore to check out the shops (much to the chagrin of Ivan, who had little interest in “four hours of shopping” but possibly enjoyed it despite himself.)

The city was populated by bright yellow cows. Apparently they were painted for the Pongal festival which also involves coaxing the cows to jump over a fire for prosperity. Paint is still selling hot at markets ahead of the Holi festival in March, during which the people are the ones that end up splattered in paint. And not just yellow.

While the Advance Team was finding its feet, Country Director Gavin has been working with our project partners to make sure everything is ready for the arrival of the Venturers. He’s also celebrating the start of just the second year of Raleigh India.

“We’ve learnt a lot in the past year and we are so well set up for this expedition, I’m so excited about it. I think it really will be the best ever,” he told the advance team upon arrival.
For the rest of the permanent staff, Amanda has been busy stocking up the logistics storeroom, Vijay is working with our local venturers and Mark has been…

…Mark has probably been wondering how he ended up with such a motley crew in the Advance Team.

We’re looking forward to the arrival of the main staff and of course the Venturers. We’ll let you know what we get up to!

The Team:

Dani, Deputy Programme Manager (pictured left): Resident South African Dani is back for her second Raleigh experience, the first was in Costa Rica two years ago. She’s already taken part in some retail therapy and has some advice for the girls heading to Raleigh for this expedition: Don’t forget the long pants and long-sleeve shirts - at least to cover shoulders!

Ivan, Adventure Programme Manager: Ivan is returning for his second Raleigh India programme and has been teaching the remainder of the Advance Team the ropes, including how to cook porridge.

Caroline (Caz), Medic (in the red T-shirt with Dani, Luce and the CEO of Apollo Hospital): Emergency Department nurse at St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, Caroline has been introduced to the medic room at Field Base and also the local hospital. A quick visit to the top-notch Apollo Hospital resulted in a personal guided tour from a senior doctor. “It’s absolutely world-class,” she said after the tour.

Lucy, Administration: Patent lawyer Lucy has discovered some of the best stationary can be picked up at the Mysore markets which are wall-to-wall scissors and staplers.

Paul, Finance (left, with the bananas): Bean counter Paul couldn’t get over the bananas at the Mysore market. “I’ve never seen so many bananas in my life. There’s no way they could sell them all.”


Peta, Media Officer: I have only a slightly less-weird accent than Dani, hailing from Australia, and I’m hoping we’ll have some budding photo-journalists among the Venturer group who might be looking to help out with the next magazine!