What’s this all about?

A couple of months ago I heard about an opportunity to visit India in order to see at first hand what Save the Children is doing to help children in India. My name is Andy, and as a long time Save the Children supporter I jumped at the chance to apply. Then a few weeks later, along with four other donors, I heard that I would be able to go. I was very excited – what a fantastic opportunity!

My head had been buzzing with lots of questions about the trip, and as I’ve talked to friends and family I have gathered a lot more. Some practical: “What will you see?” and “What sort of things do they do there?” Others curious: “Why are Save the Children doing this?”, “What does India think of western charities like Save the Children?”. Some even sceptical: “Why should we give to a country as prosperous as India?” I’m really looking forward to going and to find some answers.

We’ve spent the last few weeks on the essential admin, and now we’re down to the last few days before we go. Finally it seems very real! We will be leaving on November 21st to spend a week in Delhi and Rajasthan. Save the Children have organised a full schedule, and we are fortunate to be able to see many different aspects of the charity’s work. I hope that this blog will help me recall what I see there, and to make sense of it. I hope too that you will find it interesting to read about what I see and what I find out about how Save the Children is using donors money to help children in India.