After years of applying I have finally gained a place for 2012 and will be able to achieve a lifelong ambition and run The London Marathon.

Having completed The Great North Run twice, The Great South Run, The Norwich Half Marathon twice and various triathlons....I think I am ready to take on the ridiculously long 26 miles and 385 yards! It won't be easy and I have months of training ahead of me on cold dark nights but it will all be worth it to raise some money for a very worthwhile cause.

This morning was the final morning of interviewing children on the scheme and registering new ones. We've registered 71 more children on the scheme, which means that there'll be 221 children coming to the church after school every day, of which 94 still need sponsors.

This week we have been really grateful for two young students from the church who have volunteered as translators. They have been invaluable to the process, helping the mothers understand what we are asking and Rachel and Jenny have really enjoyed working with them.

Today we have two more stories to share with you from families here in the slums of Chennai. Interviewing the children who are enrolled on the sponsorship scheme really does help to get an insight into the reality of life here.

The team have been in the Chennai slum meeting children and their families again today. Today is a public holiday in Chennai which made it easier for the older children to attend without missing lessons. It's encouraging meeting the older children and hearing about their dreams and aspirations for the future, for studying at college and the career paths they'd like to follow.

We wanted to share the story of Uvasree, who you can see with her mother in the photograph below.

Today, some of the children on the Chennai sponsorship programme came to the church centre for their annual update session with the team.

More photos from Rach Warwick here.

This week, Sharon, Catherine, Jenny, Suzanne and Rachel are in Chennai spending time with Kevin and Deborah and all the children who are part of the sponsorship project.

The team have spent this first afternoon visiting  homes in the slum with Kevin and his brother David. The people live along the riverbank. Each house has just one small room (about 10 foot square) which often accommodates up to 8 family members. It's the cooler season at the moment but even now the English find the rooms unbearably hot. Taking a tour of the slum area is a great opportunity for the team to acclimatise and see the families in the context of their homes before they come individually for interviews at the church later this week.

Here's a exert from the latest 1step2step newsletter .

A lot has already happened since Nicola’s return to Thailand:

A big "THANK YOU" to Karla Shepherd for a creative fundraising venture. A few Christmas baubles were first turned into Christmas tree table decorations and then sold in aid of the work Grassroots does in Tanzania. A simple idea but raise £135!

Feel free to email us if you want information of Karla's designs.

Latest Newsletter from Les and Kathie in Malawi

We can not believe that it is three months since our last newsletter.

Back in November we received this exciting letter from Eliza in Romania: