Day 0: We're Off to see the Lion King

Well...they day has come.....the day some of the team have been waiting for almost a year....a year of planning, charity events and fund raising....and I’d like to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to everyone who’s supported us throughout the year and donated their pounds, pennies and even bits of fluff, cotton wool and buttons that we have found in the charity buckets. We TOTALLY smashed our target of £26,400 and raised £29,000 which all goes towards our project of building and refurbing the Uwu Primary School in Moshi, Tanzania and also helping to fund other projects around the world, sponsored by Childreach International.

On a personal note I'd like to thank the following companies/organisations that have personally helped me reach my target..

• Classwatch http://www.classwatch.co.uk/
• Edwards and Platt http://www.edwardsandplatt.co.uk/
• IOT plc http://www.iotplc.co.uk/
• Techex Ltd http://www.techex.co.uk/
• RM (of course) http://www.rm.com/

Thanks also go to EVERYONE who sponsored me (and everyone else) and have personally suported me and said nice things like "wow, that sounds amazing" and "bloddy 'ell why would you wanna go allthe way over there and have no toilets, hotwater or power!"  Anyway, seriously, could not have done it without you and I (we all) will do our best to make you proud of what YOUR money has helped us acheive.

I must admit, with less than 10 hours before our flight out to Tanzania, I  have mixed feelings this morning. Feeling of excitement but also nervousness as I really have no idea of what to expect when we get there or how we will feel when we suddenly find ourselves emersed in the lives of these villagers who's lives, compared to ours, are just completely different in more ways that I can even imagine right now. Its funny, as I had a shower this morning and had powerful hot water falling on me on-demand I realised just how much we take for granted in our lives....where we are going we will have ONE bucket of water (Cold water) for a shower each day which we'll literally throw over ourselves. That is its own will be strange...but just a tiny tiny example of how different the villagers of Moshi's lives are compared to our lives of luxury over here...

Right...all that's left now is to finish packing and then I plan to make the most of the day....watch a bit of TV, see some friends for lunch and make the most of the "luxuries" we'll be leaving behind for 3 weeks....

That said...I can not convey just how EXCITED I am about this trip though - its gonna be amazing, eye opening and I hope the group of RM'ers will become life-long close friends as we share this experience together.....

...Right breakfast time now.....nice bowl of coco pops I think.... :-)