Raleigh Olympics but no closing ceremony just yet...

The past three days have seen Fieldbase light up with stories of adventure, new experiences and talk of the challenges to come. We have thoroughly enjoyed having the company of our 25 ICS participants joining us for their Mid-Point review. Here is a run-down of what happened it far exceeded our own plans thanks to plenty of improvisation from the teams. 

Own teams returned shouting and cheering, announcing their return (and plans to be competitive) in some style. After a quick turnaround they got back to their buses for a day trip to Mysore our nearest city for a first look at what one of India’s cleaner and greener cities has to offer.

They toured the markets and streets before indulging in a little pizza and retail therapy. As I arrived at the gates of Mysore’s famous palace I found them making some new friends…

On day two we got everyone to breakdown their experience so far in a series of review activities. The level of awareness and understanding shown impressed us greatly not to mention how close these groups from two very different cultures have become. 

In the afternoon Alex gave everyone a look at the data the teams have collated, comparing the two communities with each other and wider India too.

The second evening was rounded off in some style as Gordon, Dan and Christine led us all through a full repertoire of their ceilidh skills. I wish I could say I have some photos of that to share with you but they seem to have all mysteriously disappeared. I’ll make it my mission to track some down to put on at a later date. We knew the Indian participants aren’t afraid of busting some moves but even they seemed a bit bewildered by the spinning, sweating and organised chaos that ensued.

Yesterday was a mixed bag of planning sessions and fun. Starting off with a ‘How does your CV look now?’ lesson from Mark followed in the afternoon by prioritising team goals for the second half of the programme. Hopefully this offered an opportunity for everyone to go through the process of thinking about what challenges lie ahead and how they may tackle them.

A key part of the programme is the return action which takes place after leaving the teams finish their time together in India. We opened up the forum for debate so everyone could hear what people are planning. Some interesting ideas involved ‘A day in the life’ video, farmer case studies and working with local craft women on a small business plan. Look out for some reports of how people are getting on with their return action plans.

To get everyone fully revved up to begin the second half we got into the Olympic spirit and held our own Raleigh Olympics. There were three events pitting the wits and muscle of Charlie 1 & 2 against each other in a race against the clock. First up was the 20m water carry, perhaps giving an advantage to our ICVs. Insert pic.

Next we put them through the minefield matrix – a game that requires communication skills, teamwork and memory.

The final challenge was the classic ‘Bravo pull’ essentially a tug of war with one of our cars. Charlie 2 emerged as the victors but everyone enjoyed the opportunity to let loose and run about.

This long weekend has been a great chance to see our teams demonstrate how well they have done already and we wanted to give them a big boost towards making the most of the weeks remaining. We’ll be telling you much more about the interesting and varied plans the teams and individuals have as they come in. We can safely say that in many ways the programme is just getting started.