Its been a busy few weeks! right now im so looking forward to the holidays and actually have a day off and talk to people back home. I miss you guys! Talk to me more!
Its funny how your perceptions of things change after being in london. You realise that all the beurocracy and non sensical stuff that seems so pointless in the rest of the country actually makes sense in london.
Also my perception of ethnicity has changed too. My first walk down lewisham high street was like ":O im actually the only white person here", but now i see that its about half white half black, and it was just the shock of going from a totally white area to a more mixed one.
City living subtly changes your psychology - if you worried about litter here, you wouldnt be able to function and have time for your day. Pigeons undeground in tube stations becomes a normality. talking to strangers is no longer a problem. green space becomes prized, and you dont realise you are living without it until you find some of it and take a deep breath and actually stop. being busy becomes normality. London loses its mysticism. everyone knows what dupstep is. you stop thinking of london as a city and more like a county where the towns all merged together
that kinda thing~
Tuesday, 24 November 2009
Wednesday, 4 November 2009
TrueTube
Truetube was awesome! The finished result is *mint*, and it may be up on www.truetube.co.uk - search for "A Positive Press Report", search words like "lewisham team, XLP" etc may also be useful. It may not be up there yet, I will send you the link the moment i know its up there, and when we get the DVD with it on from the lovely people at TrueVan, i will post it here and on facebook.
watch this space~ [ ]
We had 2 and a half days to film and edit our film, and we were pretty much free to do what we wanted with it. All the teams chose to focus on their boroughs, or a place in their borough. We decided to look at the positive issues in Lewisham, rather than the negative ones. This sprung out of people's attitudes around here concerning several of the estates, like Milford Towers, where there were several murders a few years ago, and the percieved "grottiness" of the area. We wanted to prove them wrong.
The first afternoon with the lovely TrueTube team we spent looking over our ideas, and filming the green screen scenes with Ruth, who is the news reporter in our film. Yes, they have a green screen in their van! How cool is that?
The second day was spent mostly filming, and me, Davina and Andy, went to do some interviews and vox pops in lewisham, and Rich came with us to oversee us and help with ideas for filming. We unearthed some interesting issues about the market - having a market stall used to be a family tradition, and we met a few traders who have had a stall there for generations, but they are now in the minority. Some have made it big and now commute in to trade there, and more than half of them are new traders, or foreign. Along with the traditional fruit and veg stalls, there are now carribean food vendors, and asian carpet-sellers - even double beds were being sold at one stall!
The traders themselves seemed to have quite a negative view on the pace of change, but the people shopping loved the variety and mostly thought it was a vibrant place to be.
watch this space~ [ ]
We had 2 and a half days to film and edit our film, and we were pretty much free to do what we wanted with it. All the teams chose to focus on their boroughs, or a place in their borough. We decided to look at the positive issues in Lewisham, rather than the negative ones. This sprung out of people's attitudes around here concerning several of the estates, like Milford Towers, where there were several murders a few years ago, and the percieved "grottiness" of the area. We wanted to prove them wrong.
The first afternoon with the lovely TrueTube team we spent looking over our ideas, and filming the green screen scenes with Ruth, who is the news reporter in our film. Yes, they have a green screen in their van! How cool is that?
The second day was spent mostly filming, and me, Davina and Andy, went to do some interviews and vox pops in lewisham, and Rich came with us to oversee us and help with ideas for filming. We unearthed some interesting issues about the market - having a market stall used to be a family tradition, and we met a few traders who have had a stall there for generations, but they are now in the minority. Some have made it big and now commute in to trade there, and more than half of them are new traders, or foreign. Along with the traditional fruit and veg stalls, there are now carribean food vendors, and asian carpet-sellers - even double beds were being sold at one stall!
The traders themselves seemed to have quite a negative view on the pace of change, but the people shopping loved the variety and mostly thought it was a vibrant place to be.
Tuesday, 27 October 2009
Its been a while~
First of all a big thankyou to everyone who's made the visit back home so enjoyable, it was great to see you again, and to take a pause from the busyness of london life. I hadn't realised the pace I was going at until the train got out of the buildings and into the green space and I took a huge breath I hadn't realised I was holding.
It is amazing what being in a different place for a while does to your perspective of familiar places - Romsey suddenly seemed small and cosy, and really slow.
So, its been a while since my last post, what has happened? *thinks*
...We are really starting to get to know the young people, and a few of us had a breakthrough moment last week in In Class Support - Byron who started acting like a bit of a terror is now behaving really well, and we were even talking a bit. So often support teachers are just in and out, and the students never really get to know them - they are just another adult who isnt there for them, and i think it is really good to have in class support that is constant throughout the year. Now that Byron is beginning to realise I'm going to be there every week he is engaging more, which is really fantastic to see, coz i know he'll get more out of school if hes concentrating, and also coz i get to know him and it makes my job easier!
mkay, running out of ideas right now, i will update this post when i'm back in london~
It is amazing what being in a different place for a while does to your perspective of familiar places - Romsey suddenly seemed small and cosy, and really slow.
So, its been a while since my last post, what has happened? *thinks*
...We are really starting to get to know the young people, and a few of us had a breakthrough moment last week in In Class Support - Byron who started acting like a bit of a terror is now behaving really well, and we were even talking a bit. So often support teachers are just in and out, and the students never really get to know them - they are just another adult who isnt there for them, and i think it is really good to have in class support that is constant throughout the year. Now that Byron is beginning to realise I'm going to be there every week he is engaging more, which is really fantastic to see, coz i know he'll get more out of school if hes concentrating, and also coz i get to know him and it makes my job easier!
mkay, running out of ideas right now, i will update this post when i'm back in london~
Saturday, 10 October 2009
Getting Established
Morning peeps! It’s the weekend! Yay!
Today I got up at the wonderful time of Quite-Late. So I shall spend what’s left of the morning telling you wonderful people what the average week at XLP is like (so far):
On Mondays all us eXperience students spend a day at the office in training. We have covered all sorts of interesting topics like community, what the point of youthwork is, modern values and Christian values, youthwork do’s and don’ts, and addressing fear. It’s a really nice time to catch up with all the other teams and find out what they’ve been up to in the week, and to plan going out. We have a regular group going up to Hillsong on Sunday evenings, I think I’ll go along tomorrow~
Tuesdays we start the day with a prayer time, and then walk to Northbrook school to do a lunch club. We are due to do some reading support there according to my timetable, but we haven’t started that yet. After school from 3pm we do an after school club called Live Lounge, which is held in the community wing of Emmanuel Pentecostal Church, and they have a PS2 and a pool table, table tennis, lots of comfy chairs and a tuck shop. It’s a nice place just to chill with the kids that come along and get to know them more. There was a really positive atmosphere and the kids really enjoyed it. At about half 4 we have a meal which we take in turns to cook, and we all get to sit round the table and have a discussion. This week it was about whether video games and music affect out behaviour. It’s really interesting to hear their views on things.
I am learning as much from the kids as I am teaching them. A girl at Northbrook was telling me yesterday about how she sees the eXperience students start the year all quiet then they grow in confidence. It reminds me that age is no barrier to wisdom, and that you can’t have high opinions of yourself!
On Wednesdays we start earlier (at ten :O We don’t have early starts at XLP which I am glad :D), and do some in class support in Addey and Stanhope school which is a bit more challenging. We have to sit in lessons with a specific pupil and help them with their school work. I have one lovely student and one challenging student, so it will be a case of sticking at it. Please pray for perseverance. After we do classroom support we do a lunch club there which was packed out and really good fun.
We then have time at the office for lunch and for a team meeting – this term we use this time to plan our video project – we have to make a 3 minute film for TrueTube (like youtube but with a social action / theological focus) on the topic of our boroughs, which we will be filming in the second half of half term.
After that me and Ruth zip off to The Barn, the 15-17 youth group at our church, and help out there. At the moment the church youth groups are the highlight of my week I get back quite late from that and get to see the shining lights of the big city from the railway line on the way back from the bus stop. Here is a piccy:
Thursdays me and Ruth spend the day at the office doing church stuff – we have prayer sessions and mentoring in the morning and spend the afternoon doing office work and planning our groups, then we do the XLP Bus at Hazel Grove estate. I will tell you more about the Bus in another post~
On Fridays we get a lie-in (yussssss) and go to Northbrook school for lunchtime pastoring, which is walking around the playground and getting to know the kids and being a friendly face for them to talk to. After lunch we then do the Bus at Milford Towers, the estate that’s built on top of a Tescos, then me and Ruth go to Ymad, the 11-14 youth group at church.
And that is my average week, although each day is never the same! There is always something interesting going on. Please email me and facebook me, coz I don’t have uber amounts of time to spend on msn atm.
Today I got up at the wonderful time of Quite-Late. So I shall spend what’s left of the morning telling you wonderful people what the average week at XLP is like (so far):
On Mondays all us eXperience students spend a day at the office in training. We have covered all sorts of interesting topics like community, what the point of youthwork is, modern values and Christian values, youthwork do’s and don’ts, and addressing fear. It’s a really nice time to catch up with all the other teams and find out what they’ve been up to in the week, and to plan going out. We have a regular group going up to Hillsong on Sunday evenings, I think I’ll go along tomorrow~
Tuesdays we start the day with a prayer time, and then walk to Northbrook school to do a lunch club. We are due to do some reading support there according to my timetable, but we haven’t started that yet. After school from 3pm we do an after school club called Live Lounge, which is held in the community wing of Emmanuel Pentecostal Church, and they have a PS2 and a pool table, table tennis, lots of comfy chairs and a tuck shop. It’s a nice place just to chill with the kids that come along and get to know them more. There was a really positive atmosphere and the kids really enjoyed it. At about half 4 we have a meal which we take in turns to cook, and we all get to sit round the table and have a discussion. This week it was about whether video games and music affect out behaviour. It’s really interesting to hear their views on things.
I am learning as much from the kids as I am teaching them. A girl at Northbrook was telling me yesterday about how she sees the eXperience students start the year all quiet then they grow in confidence. It reminds me that age is no barrier to wisdom, and that you can’t have high opinions of yourself!
On Wednesdays we start earlier (at ten :O We don’t have early starts at XLP which I am glad :D), and do some in class support in Addey and Stanhope school which is a bit more challenging. We have to sit in lessons with a specific pupil and help them with their school work. I have one lovely student and one challenging student, so it will be a case of sticking at it. Please pray for perseverance. After we do classroom support we do a lunch club there which was packed out and really good fun.
We then have time at the office for lunch and for a team meeting – this term we use this time to plan our video project – we have to make a 3 minute film for TrueTube (like youtube but with a social action / theological focus) on the topic of our boroughs, which we will be filming in the second half of half term.
After that me and Ruth zip off to The Barn, the 15-17 youth group at our church, and help out there. At the moment the church youth groups are the highlight of my week I get back quite late from that and get to see the shining lights of the big city from the railway line on the way back from the bus stop. Here is a piccy:
Thursdays me and Ruth spend the day at the office doing church stuff – we have prayer sessions and mentoring in the morning and spend the afternoon doing office work and planning our groups, then we do the XLP Bus at Hazel Grove estate. I will tell you more about the Bus in another post~
On Fridays we get a lie-in (yussssss) and go to Northbrook school for lunchtime pastoring, which is walking around the playground and getting to know the kids and being a friendly face for them to talk to. After lunch we then do the Bus at Milford Towers, the estate that’s built on top of a Tescos, then me and Ruth go to Ymad, the 11-14 youth group at church.
And that is my average week, although each day is never the same! There is always something interesting going on. Please email me and facebook me, coz I don’t have uber amounts of time to spend on msn atm.
Saturday, 3 October 2009
Induction Week
Induction week was fantastic. We had a welcome service at St Paul’s Shadwell, and got to meet the team and the other students on the course before heading off to the Latimer Centre for our induction week.
It was really great to hang out with everyone before we got stuck into doing our work, and we got to do loads of cool things, like a mini arts showcase (our team did a rap/dance and won!), a lunch club, going for curry on brick lane, a BBQ at the offices, and seeing the boroughs we’ll be working in on the borough day. I am in Lewisham team, with Ruth (from Sheffield), Andy (from Coventry), Davina (from Knowle near Birmingham), Zoe (from Derby) and Heather (from Gloucester). With so many northerners around I’m starting to lose my posh Winchester accent (yusssssssssssss).
My team is amazing, and I’m really happy to be working with such an awesome bunch of people. I am so pleased we are getting along so well, and already we have our running jokes ... Lewisham finger!!
London is amazing on many levels – there is always so much going on, from art to drama, to wacky and totally random things. Walking near the globe theatre we found a group of students running around the streets wearing cardboard boxes playing “human Tetris”, and in St James' Park there was a guy playing a drumkit attached to a bike frame.
On the other hand, slightly illegal and shocking stuff happens and no one bats an eyelid – if you did you’d just be stressed out I guess. We saw a guy hotwiring a car and another running away from the police all in one evening. Mike Coates explained that stuff was kicking off that night because it was the end of Ramadan and everyone was partying. We were also walking through the estate late at night, which we won’t be doing when we start work, so he was keen to stress we wouldn’t have to see that stuff on a regular basis. Its funny how much I’ve changed – a year ago that would’ve stressed me out, but I found it hilarious. Part of knowing that God has called me here takes away the stress of being in the city and adjusting to a new way of life. Because I know God put me here for a job, he won’t let me come to harm while the job is still to be done. And when this job is finished, I’ll go onto the next one. God is more than capable of looking after me.
I have fallen in love with the DLR, which is a train that travels at roof height round the city – I love going on it at night through the city centre, amongst the huge glittering skyscrapers; it’s a magical sight.
If you have any more questions about induction week, just ask and I’ll update this post. More to come soon!
Friday, 2 October 2009
I was lost in city lights...
Not really, i just like that tune~
Here are some pretty lights pictures. Sorry for the short blog post, i thought i better post summat but i dont know where to start, so much has happened! I will probably post more at the weekend when i have some time on my hands, my days are packed atm.
Here are some pretty lights pictures. Sorry for the short blog post, i thought i better post summat but i dont know where to start, so much has happened! I will probably post more at the weekend when i have some time on my hands, my days are packed atm.
Tuesday, 22 September 2009
First few days in London Town~
So, it been a packed few days, and already i have learnt a lot and seen loads of new things.
everyone here is gonan type summat:
caitlin is the best person but im not really supposed to say that ;)
hannah is pretty much the most amazing person here! i love her to bits! :P
whatevs :P
shut it you
no!
what is this we're listening to?
sigur ros
wierdddooooo!!! :P
no! sigour ros are amazing! its kind of like they spk whale or something
its icelandic~
i think it sounds like ppl speaking in tongues after cider
(cool though ;))
yeah.
what they said.
yessssss! :D
coz we are amazing! :D
wahey! novern landaners 4eva yoof!
lewisham is blatantly better~ *lewisham finger~*
dont point that thing at me!
pick a finger! :P
*thats* a peckham finger ;)
yerboi!
that was caitlin and hannah and becky.
serious post coming soon when its earlier in the evening =}
and when were not hyper =}
everyone here is gonan type summat:
caitlin is the best person but im not really supposed to say that ;)
hannah is pretty much the most amazing person here! i love her to bits! :P
whatevs :P
shut it you
no!
what is this we're listening to?
sigur ros
wierdddooooo!!! :P
no! sigour ros are amazing! its kind of like they spk whale or something
its icelandic~
i think it sounds like ppl speaking in tongues after cider
(cool though ;))
yeah.
what they said.
yessssss! :D
coz we are amazing! :D
wahey! novern landaners 4eva yoof!
lewisham is blatantly better~ *lewisham finger~*
dont point that thing at me!
pick a finger! :P
*thats* a peckham finger ;)
yerboi!
that was caitlin and hannah and becky.
serious post coming soon when its earlier in the evening =}
and when were not hyper =}
Friday, 18 September 2009
Last day in Romsey
First of all, a huge thankyou to everyone whos given me such a send-off :D
These last weeks have been hilarious, and I will cherish the memories of cinema trips, trashing PS2s and sticking magazines to bedroom walls, not to mention being high on sugar along the way.
The gifts you have given me were a lovely surprise, and I will cherish them. I got a food package from my parents! wooo!
My last few days in Romtown/Romzle/Rommers have been great, and I spent today walking through it and saying goodbye to everything, from the silent graves of the cemetery, to the cynical wit of the graffiti under the railway bridge and the silent peace of the Abbey. I even said goodbye to the ducks. One thing I won't miss are the infamous Romsey Pot-Holes!
I will miss you guys and hope you will keep in touch. I hope to have internet at my new place, so I will keep in touch via email and facebook, and msn too. If you want my new address, please text me for it, because I'm not too sure Elaine wants her address on the internet!
My host is called Elaine, she is a lovely lady who comes from the West Indies/Jamaica, and she is so friendly. She also likes sewing! So Angeline will have a friend XD. I will be living in the borough of Lewisham and Kerry, my borough leader is really nice ( if you read Conspiracy of the Insignificant, which is making its way round Reloaded atm, she has written about her gap year experiences in it).
XLP have been very welcoming and I have had lots of phonecalls from them to sort out details and to ask if I have any questions.
I can't wait for the "freshers week" which starts tomorrow, and I also get to meet Elaine. At freshers week there will be games, lots of food (yay) and teaching on budgeting, the social issues of London, some theology, and plenty of time to get to know the leaders and other students. I've already talked to a few on facebook, they seem a lovely bunch.
My wordly belongings have been condensed to 5 suitcases and a pallete full of fabric and Angeline, and we all ship off tomorrow morning. Keep in touch!
xxx
These last weeks have been hilarious, and I will cherish the memories of cinema trips, trashing PS2s and sticking magazines to bedroom walls, not to mention being high on sugar along the way.
The gifts you have given me were a lovely surprise, and I will cherish them. I got a food package from my parents! wooo!
My last few days in Romtown/Romzle/Rommers have been great, and I spent today walking through it and saying goodbye to everything, from the silent graves of the cemetery, to the cynical wit of the graffiti under the railway bridge and the silent peace of the Abbey. I even said goodbye to the ducks. One thing I won't miss are the infamous Romsey Pot-Holes!
I will miss you guys and hope you will keep in touch. I hope to have internet at my new place, so I will keep in touch via email and facebook, and msn too. If you want my new address, please text me for it, because I'm not too sure Elaine wants her address on the internet!
My host is called Elaine, she is a lovely lady who comes from the West Indies/Jamaica, and she is so friendly. She also likes sewing! So Angeline will have a friend XD. I will be living in the borough of Lewisham and Kerry, my borough leader is really nice ( if you read Conspiracy of the Insignificant, which is making its way round Reloaded atm, she has written about her gap year experiences in it).
XLP have been very welcoming and I have had lots of phonecalls from them to sort out details and to ask if I have any questions.
I can't wait for the "freshers week" which starts tomorrow, and I also get to meet Elaine. At freshers week there will be games, lots of food (yay) and teaching on budgeting, the social issues of London, some theology, and plenty of time to get to know the leaders and other students. I've already talked to a few on facebook, they seem a lovely bunch.
My wordly belongings have been condensed to 5 suitcases and a pallete full of fabric and Angeline, and we all ship off tomorrow morning. Keep in touch!
xxx
Monday, 7 September 2009
Speckle is off to London...
I got in!!! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!
So, by the 19th of September I will be in London! It is really exciting and it really feels right to be there. It was great to meet the staff, and see how friendly they were, and that they still had a passion for their work, even 5 years down the line for some of them! Most of the staff there were people who had been on the same gap year course and stayed on. It was really positive to hear their stories and experiences; it was both fascinating and reassuring.
I start on the 19th of September (argh only two weeks :D) and will meet my host family/couple/person and then go to the celebration evening, which people are welcome to come to. From there all us students will go to the induction week and do some crazy awesome teambuilding stuff and also some admin on how to settle in etc. We get taught budgeting. Yay~
I will be placed in one out of 5 boroughs under a team leader for that borough. There will be about 5 people in a team, and all 20 of us will meet every Monday for training and team building, the rest of the week will be practical activity in the schools in the borough. My placement church, which is also the church of my host family, will have me as an additional youth worker – I was glad to hear I wasn’t going to be chucked in the deep end and that I have a great deal of support from the church and XLP. They don’t leave you on your own!
I think that’s about all the technical details of the course, so here is a little about my interview and induction day...
The journey there took less time than we expected, and was also cheaper than I expected, so I will be coming home to see y’all as often as possible~
Me and Mum got a bit lost in Lewisham but a very nice man came along and gave us directions. Londoners are so friendly! Some of the other girls there had the same experience, and I saw a total stranger help a woman carry a pram down the station steps. London gets such bad press and it was great to see the newspapers proved wrong. Again ;)
Lewisham looks like an awesome place – we were there on market day and it reminded me so much of the market in Uganda. Apart from it was all on tables and there weren’t live chickens running everywhere~ I told Mum: “who needs to travel the world when you can come to London?” We saw lots of amazing things like huge piles of peppers going for only a pound, and a fabric shop selling wonderful bright colours for only £1 a metre! (blates, take me there). I also discovered that one of the other girls on the course does art textiles, and one of the leaders works part time in a fabric shop! We can be sewing nerds ^_^
There were 3 other girls there at the interview today: Bex, Kate, and Heather. They were all really lovely and I can’t wait to work with them. Heather was keen to bring her keyboard, and as she mentioned it you could see Mike Coates’ mind working as to which host family had a piano. They are really accommodating and keen to cultivate your interests and hobbies, which is great. Angeline (The Sewing Machine) can come after all ^_^
Mike Coates is the training manager person thing, and he will be overseeing our training in youthwork and theology, and generally keeping it all together. He is really friendly. Ali (the fabric lady) was great, with a wicked sense of humour, and the various other staff were all really friendly and enthusiastic. We got to see their basement recording studio for the arts showcase, and the attic prayer room (puts the Weekend Away one to shame ^_^ ) , and their offices and training rooms. I was half expecting a really polished complex but it used to be an old Benefits Assesment place, and it needs a little work. I like the beaten up feel actually, its good to know they don’t care so much about the staff building and that they put the money to the work they do instead.
I could write about it forever, so best to keep it short and update it to answer any questions you might still have. Ask away~
Wednesday, 26 August 2009
First Post - Gap Year Starts Here!
Hello all, welcome to my gap year blog! This is probably the easiest way for you all to keep up to date with what I’m doing, as it will likely be an action packed year with lots to tell people about.
Currently, my plan is to do the XLP eXperience course, which looks amazing. It is in London on some of the rougher estates, and the aim is to bring a little of the love of Jesus to these kids’ lives, through teaching them to read and write (some of them can’t because they weren’t taught in their home country and they have newly moved to the UK), working in the schools, teachings lessons, running lunch time and after school clubs and doing a talent show called the Arts Showcase. These activities aim to bring self esteem and confidence to the young people and teach them good values and to make right choices, and tackle issues such as drugs, gun and knife crime, under age sex, and self harm.
My heart really burns for the young people in urban areas and the issues they face, they can have it really tough. It doesn’t help that they (we even) are criticised so much in the media and dismissed as “yobs” when the issues surrounding such behaviour are far more complex than the media leads us to believe. Self harm, alcoholism, and hopelessness are some of the problems I have encountered among people I know, even in the nice cuddly town of Romsey, so you can imagine how much deeper it goes in the inner cities.
The song “Youth of the Nation” by POD sums it up, here it is on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEVPoo0kOa4
As a Christian I am called to be “salt and light” in my generation – sharing love and acceptance to all who need it. Since Soul Survivor my concern for our nation’s youth has reached a whole new level and I am rooting to go out and help.
If I get on the eXperience course, it will be a tough and exciting gap year. I have sent my application to the team, which they will consider and interviews take place on Monday the 7th of September.
If that falls through, I plan to apply for a job at Waitrose to get some cash behind me for travelling, and going back to Uganda looks like a possibility. I would be doing teaching part time at Wobulenzi Town Academy with Beth from church, and sightseeing or volunteering during the rest of the week. After that there are a few countries I’d like to see, such as Japan, Iceland, and Italy.
All in all it will be an exciting and action packed year! I will keep up to date regularly on this blog so keep up regularly!
Currently, my plan is to do the XLP eXperience course, which looks amazing. It is in London on some of the rougher estates, and the aim is to bring a little of the love of Jesus to these kids’ lives, through teaching them to read and write (some of them can’t because they weren’t taught in their home country and they have newly moved to the UK), working in the schools, teachings lessons, running lunch time and after school clubs and doing a talent show called the Arts Showcase. These activities aim to bring self esteem and confidence to the young people and teach them good values and to make right choices, and tackle issues such as drugs, gun and knife crime, under age sex, and self harm.
My heart really burns for the young people in urban areas and the issues they face, they can have it really tough. It doesn’t help that they (we even) are criticised so much in the media and dismissed as “yobs” when the issues surrounding such behaviour are far more complex than the media leads us to believe. Self harm, alcoholism, and hopelessness are some of the problems I have encountered among people I know, even in the nice cuddly town of Romsey, so you can imagine how much deeper it goes in the inner cities.
The song “Youth of the Nation” by POD sums it up, here it is on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEVPoo0kOa4
As a Christian I am called to be “salt and light” in my generation – sharing love and acceptance to all who need it. Since Soul Survivor my concern for our nation’s youth has reached a whole new level and I am rooting to go out and help.
If I get on the eXperience course, it will be a tough and exciting gap year. I have sent my application to the team, which they will consider and interviews take place on Monday the 7th of September.
If that falls through, I plan to apply for a job at Waitrose to get some cash behind me for travelling, and going back to Uganda looks like a possibility. I would be doing teaching part time at Wobulenzi Town Academy with Beth from church, and sightseeing or volunteering during the rest of the week. After that there are a few countries I’d like to see, such as Japan, Iceland, and Italy.
All in all it will be an exciting and action packed year! I will keep up to date regularly on this blog so keep up regularly!
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