Jana Eyssel from our linked community of Gottingen visited Cheltenham in February and March to volunteer for Global Footsteps. She contributed a great deal while she was here and will continue to contribute thanks to her report. It is very well written and includes some valued advice for the Global Ventures programme. An extract can be found on our blog.

Last night Morgan Phillips (Global Footsteps Director) led a small team to an event at The Raven Centre in Gloucester. Global Footsteps had been invited by the Gloucester Branch of the International Freindship League (IFL) to discuss its Conference and Ventures activities. The IFL has very similar aims to Global Footsteps and the audience was very encouraged by the presentation. Morgan detailed the extent of the Global Footsteps network and outlined the aims of the programme. Drawing on the New Economics Foundation 'five ways to wellbeing' Morgan highlighted five things we can do to enrich our lives: 1. Connect... 2. Be active... 3. Take Notice... 4. Keep learning... 5. Give... He then stated that the challenge, for sustainability, on a personal level, is to do these things in an environmentally and socially responsible way. This is what Global Footsteps is about. Morgan was joined by Howard Marshall, Aby Morley and Alice Matthews who together will form a team to visit our Kenyan linked community, Kisumu this coming June and July. Morgan discussed the educational values and purpose behind global ventures and left it to to the rest of the team to outline the specifics of the venture. In Kenya Global Footsteps will be going into schools, churches and universities to explore life in Kisumu and talk about life in the UK. Barack Obama's father is from the Kisumu region, the impact of his election on the mood of the region will be explored by Howard. Aby Morley, a young artist, will be hoping to involve herself in a skill exchange while Alice a soon to be trainee teacher is keen to learn from teaching methods in a very different environment.

A very successful evening was wrapped up by Morgan and Rendezvous society founder Dennis Mitchell with a discussion of the upcoming renovations at Rendezvous. The vision for the building, its fabric and functions, was outlined and met with much enthusiasm and pledges of support from the IFL.