Parents and Young People's Evening
After going through the gruelling interview process the final 16 of us found ourselves meeting as a group for the first time on the 6th of November. Our parents came along as well and the youth leaders and mentors explained to us about all the details of the project. At first things were a little awkward and quiet in the group... but in next to no time our parents were chatting away happily and asking questions. This week’s session was a fascinating insight into what we can expect over the months to follow, and with a residential weekend planned for in a couple of week’s time, we couldn’t wait for the project to begin!
Scrapbooks
When the group came together next, we felt that now that the major information about the project had been conveyed to us and our parents and we’d all gotten to know each other, the most important thing to do next would be to start the serious work of scrap book-ing, the essential way to bond. After several concentrated hours of cutting out fabric, scattering large amounts of glitter, and sticking things together (sometimes even on purpose), we finally had our beautiful scrapbooks ready! Melissa promised that no extra points would be rewarded for being especially artistic, but we all knew she would win anyway for her creative use of fairy wings.
Now that we have scrapbooks, we can record all of the important milestones of our journey, right from the initial stages of planning. That way when we’re old and grey, or at least in a couple of years when we’re not “youths” anymore, we can look back at all our memories of the experience, whether they be happy (meeting lots of new people and making a difference to their, and our, lives), sad (witnessing poverty and struggles that are so separate from our way of living), exciting (the Safari! Pleeeease can we go on a Safari?), or just disgusting (we do keep getting threatened with chicken feet and cat stew...). This way, the amazing project that we’re all part of, will be, literally, unforgettable.