All set for India (nearly!)

I am Mandie Mulloy, General Manager of Wellington and District YMCA.

I feel privileged to be part of the Discovery visit team. I feel a bit like I am going away with strangers but will come back with friends that I have shared the trip of a lifetime with! We all have the same passion for the work of the YMCA but we will all come home with different thoughts on various aspects of the visit that can influence our own work in our local YMCAs.

I am excited with the whole buzz of what India has to offer us, as I have only seen it on film and in books. I am prepared myself as much as I can for the deprivation that I am going to see. I've had to think carefully about what I am taking in my case - I've been given bags of sweets and hand knitted toys to give to the children that we meet which has meant I've had to hugely reduce the amount of clothing that I would normally pack but in the light of what we'll see on the trip, it's brought it home that the material things don't really matter.

Less than 36 hours to go until take off - feeling very excited!

Bears donated via Jake Bennett at Telford Foodbank , from Friends of West Mercia Police and Andy Hudson