Our Project Managers have arrived!

The Project Managers (PMs) have arrived and Fieldbase has suddenly doubled in size. The beds are filling up, shower queues are forming and it’s ‘elbows in’ at the dinner table!

So...introducing the PMs!

Spot the difference! Andy, Hannah, Anthony, Helen, Kath, Jon, Sarah, Sian, Clare, Charlie, Lou, Hannah, Rachel, Jonny, Maggie, Adam, Ed, Tim and Sally.

Hannah, Anthony and I successfully picked up the PMs from Bangalore airport at 4.30am this morning and we got everyone on a bus headed for Fieldbase. After the obligatory chai and breakfast stop for dosa, a rice pancake filled with curried potato, we arrived at Fieldbase to be greeted by a traditional welcoming ceremony from Deepack and Mangalore.

A well deserved breakfast

 A traditional welcome with Jasmine flower garlands

Next stop was up to the roof for a welcome from country director Mark, followed by a quick overview of the day by Helen and of course some Raleigh name games!

After we had all formally introduced ourselves through the medium of animals, adjectives and a little dance (boy have we got a treat in store for our venturers!) it was time for lunch and our PMs to have their first taste of the delicious Indian food that we’ve been enjoying over the past week.

They were then given a tour of Fieldbase and a chance to get their heads around their new home. After an afternoon of admin and an introduction to their roles, they were treated to yet another yummy selection of curries and finally allowed to go to bed for a good sleep in preparation for the busy week ahead.

Tomorrow marks the start of an intensive two weeks of training to make sure we’re 100% prepared for when the venturers arrive. We’ll be learning how to fend for ourselves on project sites, going on a trek and all the PMs will find out where their projects will be. They’ll also be getting the chance to go and visit their project sites for a recce and meet the project partners. In between joining in on the training I’ll be updating the blog with what everyone’s been up to and most importantly what projects they’ll all be going on so watch this space!

In other news, it would seem that while Hannah and I were away picking up the rest of the team one of the Fieldbase cats decided to have kittens in our tent! Luckily Lou and Sally were on hand to rescue them and play mum so we’re slowly adding to our Fieldbase pet collection – next stop a cow and maybe a friend for Julia!