Mother of three, keen Watford supporter, former RAF Officer, one-time hospice nurse and teacher of Religious Studies, Psychology and Business Studies.rnrnFirst visited India as a child then later when in the RAF. Returned in 2005 on the first Udayan visit and delighted to be taking the fifth group of sixth formers there. The students will spend time teaching literacy and numeracy to the younger children as well as playing with them. rn rnI look forward to being at Udayan once more and meeting everyone again. rn
I am Head of Sixth Form at St Joan of Arc School. I am very much looking forward to being part of the team visiting Udayan in February, particularly as I was there four years ago. It is a fantastic opportunity for us all and one which I am sure will have a profound effect upon us. Over the last nine years Udayan has played a major role in the life of the Sixth Form as it has been at the centre of all our fundraising activities. Furthermore, it has now become the whole school charity. We will soon be able to see for ourselves exactly how our efforts have helped the children of Udayan and when we return to school, our memories of the visit will spur us on to help even more.
My name is Anna-Marie Pinnell and I’m the Deputy Head Girl at St Joan of Arc. I study History, English Literature and Drama and in October I hope to go to university to study History. My family have been big supporters of Udayan for several years now and their enthusiasm has been passed on to me. In October I held a musical evening to raise some money to contribute to the trip expense and thanks to the generosity of the people in my parish and community I raised an excess of around £1300 for the children as well. I teach children from the age of 3 to 12 on the weekends so I shall be able to draw on this experience when teaching literacy at Udayan. I am interested in spending a year or two abroad doing charity work after university and for me this trip is a great starting point. Also, these sixth form visits help to keep the enthusiasm and interest in Udayan going amongst the younger years which will help to ensure that St Joan’s students continue to support the children of Udayan in the future.
My name is Lucy Moran, I am 17 years old and I’m currently doing Drama and Theatre Studies, Business Studies and Geography. After finishing my A-levels I hope to go to university and study primary education. rnI have grown up surrounded by many charity events for Udayan through primary school and more so at St. Joan of Arc. I have helped as best I could and recently supported the Road to Rouen fund raiser through small events that contributed to the overall amount raised for Udayan. I look forward to seeing the children there and also how the money we raise helps them and the home. rnrnI hope not only to have a brilliant experience travelling to such a unique place, but also to learn so much about all the children and how much more we can help them. I’d like to give Udayan a fun and friendly individual who cares for their future. I hope my visit will also help me when I go on to do primary education as I will be able to experience a completely different school environment which could teach me a lot. rnrnI feel very privileged to have the opportunity to meet everyone at Udayan and cannot wait to go!rn
My name is Evie McMillan, I’m 17 years old and am currently studying Business Studies, English Literature and Psychology. I hope to continue studying Psychology at university in September 2013. rnrnI first found out about Udayan in year 7 when I joined Joan of Arc and have always been interested in travelling to India and visiting Udayan. When the opportunity came up last year for me to go I jumped at the chance. We will be teaching the little children as well as playing with them, and I am looking forward to that very much. I hope those of you that follow the journal will enjoy finding out what we have been experiencing at the home and in Kolkata.rn
My name is Stefan and I am studying for my A levels in Business, Chemistry and Physics. I hope to go on to University in the autumn to study Chemistry. In my spare time I belong to the Scouts and am currently running Cubs. This summer I will be taking them camping for two weeks. rnrnI am really looking forward to visiting Udayan as throughout my school years I have so much about it and have always supported the fundraising. Spending time with the children will be very interesting and I am looking forward to helping them during lessons and spending time playing with them. I think this trip will be an eyeopener and will leave me with a lasting memory about Udayan and India.rn
My name is Jemma Browne and I currently study Art, Geography and English Literature and hope to continue English Literature at university next year. Having been aware of the wonderful work that goes on at Udayan since I joined St Joan’s in year 7, I wanted a chance to experience it for myself. I enter into this trip with a mixture of excitement and trepidation about what I will encounter while visiting Kolkata. Although I am sure that any anxiety will be overridden by the warm and friendly greetings that I have been told to expect from the children and staff at Udayan. My family and friends are all excited that I am making this pilgrimage and are eager for me to absorb myself into the atmosphere of Udayan and bring back great memories to share.
Hello! My name is Kirsten and I’m part of the 2013 Udayan trip. Currently I’m an upper-sixth former studying History, English and Archaeology. In October I’ll be going to study Archaeology and Anthropology at the University of Oxford (if all goes to plan- fingers crossed!!!). rnrnI first heard about the trip through the fundraising that the school does, and my interest in other cultures intrigued me to get involved. In order to pay for the trip I had to get a part-time job and now work at John Lewis. rnrnThe opportunity to go to India and visit a place like Udayan is absolutely a once in a lifetime opportunity. There are rare occasions where you can come face to face with a lifestyle so completely contrasted to your own, where you can only begin to fathom what ‘life’ is for that other person, and I think that’s amazing. A non- western lifestyle is what I’m most looking forward to, as well as the culture and community so famously linked to India. We (students from England) live such a removed and different lifestyle to the Udayan children that I’m not sure what I could give to them. However I shall try to spend my time with them as productively as I can. We are going to teach English through the medium of numbers and I hope the children will enjoy the activities we have planned for them.rn
My name is Rachel Ashton and I am 17 years old. I am the current Head Girl at St Joan of Arc School. I am studying French, English Literature and History, and hope to study French at the University of Manchester or Liverpool in September 2013. rnrnSince joining the school in Year 7, I have always loved fundraising for Udayan and seeing the results of the effort we as students put in and how grateful those at Udayan really are. When visiting India and Udayan itself, I hope to take in a new culture and am really looking forward to meeting all the children and those working at Udayan.
My name is Luke Allen, I’m 18 years old. I am studying Business, PE and Art. My aim is to study business management at university starting in September. After hearing so much about it over the years and meeting James Stevens, I am really looking forward to visiting Udayan and seeing for myself everything that goes on there. I hope that the little I can do will somehow be of help to the children. I’m also excited to experience the Indian culture and learn about Calcutta.