Day 6 - Christmas Day, December 25th

Happy Christmas to one and all from everyone on the Rainbow Challenge in Kolkata.

I am pleased to be able to post today because over the last while our access to internet facilities has been poor and intermittent. Nevertheless, here we are again! This will be our last day at Loreto Day School Sealdah which has been our home since we arrived in Calcutta. Tomorrow we leave for Shillong in the rural Northeast to begin our building project at the Loreto school there.

Since we arrived here, everything I hoped and dreamed would happen has happened. The Scout meeting yesterday was magical as was the trip to the rural village near Diamond Harbour the day before. Rather than try in vain to describe these experiences with mere words, I will instead let the pictures and video clips which Ken will shortly upload to this blog do just that for me.

Today the Rainbow Children spent the morning happily drawing pictures on the back of blank postcards for our venturers to send home to those who kindly donated money to help them get here. I wasn't sure whether or not that idea that we had had some months back was going to work but as the pictures and video will reveal, it most certainly did. In about an hour we will kick off the Christmas festivities. Gerry Harris has the honour of doing Santa. Serves him right for not shaving!

I am pleased to say that I got exactly what I wanted for Christmas: All of our group are happy, healthy, actively engaged and enjoying themselves and my baby project is so far going really, really well. Lets hope it continues like this.