India

India

Two trips to India (2006 and 2007) to see some work among the Dalits who are among the most oppressed and downtrodden peoples in the world, victims of an inhuman caste system which considers them to be below the castes and therefore subhuman. I have visited a number of Dalit Education Centres which provides schools mainly for Dalit children in a bid to provide education to help lift them and their families out of poverty. I have also had the opportunity to visit other projects supported by Red International including vocational training, micro economics and women's empowerment. In 2006 I visited a separate project rescuing victims of sex trafficking in Mumbai and run by Oasis India. In all these visits I have met remarkable people with remarkable stories to tell.

Philippines

Philippines

In 2007 I had the opportunity to visit the Jigsaw project in Manila, capital of the Philippines. Jigsaw works among street children and families living in slums and squatter camps often in attrocious conditions. Jigsaw runs a variety of kids clubs as well as supporting children through education. Tim and Kate head up the project with an amazing team of Filipino staff - dedicated, very creative, and great fun to be with. I went in a party of 10 from various churches in the UK, and we spent a week working with the Jigsaw team - check out the praxis trip website which includes a blog giving full details of all that we got up to.

Peru

Peru

Coming up in the summer of 2008 will be a family expedition to Peru. This is to visit our honorary family member, Paul Turner, who is working with Latin Link at Shalom, a school for children with disabilities. Ian is doing a recce in advance of the rest of the family and I daresay that photos will soon be appearing on his website.

Florida

Florida

Although my trips have often been linked with humanitarian projects, we have also been very fortunate in being able to have some family treats. Our holiday of a lifetime was definitely the trip to Florida in 2004 which included all the theme parks, plus other highlights: swimming with dolphins, Cirque du Soleil, Kennedy Space Center, to name a few.