Snow! ... evening 6/40

I know it's gone but it was definitely snowing! And in my tent the drips are still dripping! I'm thinking of rubbing the inside with a towel but in the recesses of my memory I'm sure I can hear my Dad saying, 'Never touch the inside of a tent!' We always obeyed him but never quite knew why ...

Planning some grub before hitting night 6 outside. I feel like it's been ages but 6 sounds oh-so-small compared to the 34 left. Thing is, it's such small inconvenience really. On the grub side of things I have as much food as I want and facilities to cook with that are safe and clean. Compare your kitchen with this one at the orphanage...

Huge cauldrens of rice for hundreds of hungry mouths. The cooking is on open fires at the moment but there's new steam-cooking equipment just waiting to be installed. I hope to hear from the orphanage soon that it's in action. It means the fire can be outside, used to boil water which in turn is piped inside as steam for cooking with. Great system - safe, clean, and allows more variety of food to be prepared.

Even so, Jayaraj and his team always make sure the children are fed as well as possible. To go with the rice there are vegetables, beans, meat once a week, and regular eggs. I've witnessed sackloads of produce arrive late at night on a truck with Joel, one of the workers who himself grew up at the orphanage. He's a great guy, hard-working and utterly reliable, and making sure the food arrives safely is a vital job when so much is at stake.

So as I eat this evening I'll think of the children and the people like Karthi who cook for them. I'll remember Vanita who's cooking for our team of leavers, and I'll eat with heartfelt thankfulness for my daily bread which I don't ever really have to worry about receiving.

Enormous thanks to recent donors who have taken our total to £632.50. You know who you are - so so grateful! If you're planning one yourself, then why not take the moment now ...

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