Preparing lunch at Footsteps cafe

From Tuesday 14 February (Valentines Day), Footsteps cafe is serving a choice of vegetarian and vegan lunches each day.  There is usually a gluten-free option as well.  Come along to Footsteps between 12.00 and 2.00 to sample our fare.  The meals are wholesome and very good value – you won’t be disappointed!

Services shaft at 16 Portland St

Building work has started in earnest at our 16 Portland St headquarters.  The building is surrounded by scaffolding, as local residents have no doubt noticed.

The past two weeks have seen the inside of the building opened up, the staircase to the basement blocked off in readiness for a new staircase at the back of the building, and the roof dismantled, to be replaced by a flat roof.  This will allow us to install renewable energy and heating technologies on the roof of the building.

The photo shows a view looking up the former light well, now a services shaft.

Alison is blogging as she goes.  Read all about her travels on the Global Footsteps blog.

Footsteps shop and cafe

The new Footsteps at 269a High St, Cheltenham just gets better and better!

STOP PRESS!  We are now open Monday-Saturday.

Come and enjoy a great cup of coffee or tea, and sample one of our fairtrade cakes.  The cafe is available for hire if you want to hold an event, meeting or class.

We have free wi-fi, as well as a new computer which you can use at very competitive rates, and we also have facilities for printing and photocopying.

Members of Global Footsteps enjoy a discount on cafe drinks as well as most shop products.  You will find the same selection of fairtrade food and gift products and some special offers.  We now do gift vouchers as well.

Howard prepares for the race

Global Footsteps member Howard Marshall is no stranger to fund-raising.  Whenever the opportunity presents itself, Howard participates in marathons and half-marathons to raise money for Global Footsteps’ work with overseas volunteer placements.  This month, Howard travelled to Cheltenham’s partner city of Torun in Poland, which has long-standing links with Global Footsteps.  It was from here that one of the charity’s founders, Dennis Mitchell, cycled all the way to Cheltenham on his tricycle.

Howard completed the Torun half-marathon on Sunday 4 December in 2 hours and 40 minutes.  He was interviewed by three Polish TV stations, as well as by BBC Radio Gloucestershire.

You can still sponsor Howard by clicking here.

Congratulations Howard!

Spend an evening sharing the experiences of Global Footsteps volunteer Kathy Sharpe, as she shows photos and gives a talk on her recent global venture to Bangladesh.

Kathy spent four weeks in Bangladesh, learning more about the projects in Nowder village and in the wider community.  She will share with us how she has come to understand the mindset of rural Bangladesh and the challenges faced by NGOs in the country.  We will explore how Global Footsteps can continue to support the projects, to make a real difference to the people of Nowder.

Friday 7th October 2011

7pm for refreshments, presentation starts at 7.30pm.

Venue: Friends Meeting House, Warwick Place,

Cheltenham, GL52 2NP

Friday 16 September 7pm at the Friends Meeting House, Cheltenham.

Rosalind Camp and Jennie Warriner, two English teachers, spent five weeks in Kisumu, Kenya, working primarily with CADIF in the slums of Kisumu city and KOSIMBO Widows and Orphans in the rural district of Kirindo. They took part in a variety of work: teaching English in a secondary school in Kisumu and primary schools in Mbitia; working with small businesses to encourage growth and development; teaching craftwork to help rural women set up an income generating activity and assisting with the health awareness work being done to combat the effects of HIV and AIDS in Mbita and Kisumu. Jon Kelly, a graduate, spent three weeks in Kisumu researching into the role of women as peacekeepers.

Come and hear about their adventures and the work of CADIF and KOSIMBO in Kenya.All welcome. No admission charge.

Friday 16 September 2011

7pm for refreshments, presentation starts at 7.30pm.

Venue: Friends Meeting House, Warwick Place, Cheltenham, GL52 2NP

The Aniga Women's Initiative

Our Global Footsteppers have been busy blogging about their experiences over the summer.  Now safely returned home from Kenya, Roz, Jennnie and Jon’s inspiring stories give a feeling of what it is like to volunteer in Kenya.  Kathy has recently returned from Bangladesh and will soon be posting her experiences and lots of photos.  Jenny and Christine have linked up with a couple of projects in Germany, and we hope to send volunteers there next year.

Follow this link to the blog: http://www.globalfootsteppers.blogspot.com/, and leave your comments for the intrepid adventurers.

If you would like to receive our newsletter by email or a hardcopy in the post, please let us know.

Matt Kelly is RUNNING the Cheltenham Circular Challenge for Global Footsteps!

On June 19th Matt will be joining hundreds of others in taking on the challenge of circumnavigating Cheltenham on foot. While most others will be walking the course, or just one or two legs of it, Matt is going to RUN the full 26 mile cross country marathon! He is doing this in aid of Global Footsteps and to support his brother Jon who is one of our volunteers this year. We’re sending Jon to Kisumu where he will help out at the ‘Kosimbo’ project. Kosimbo is a widows and orphans group that works to improve healthcare and education in a rural village on the exposed shores of the great Lake Victoria. Jon will be carrying out research into the role of women in peace building. This is really important in this part of Kenya as the status of women is still quite low there. Jon’s research should highlight the importance of groups like Kosimbo and help build vital awareness, support and respect for them. Matt writes on his Just Giving page: ‘I’m really proud of what Jon is doing and really thankful to Global Footsteps for making it happen. Please sponsor me as much as you can, it’ll really help me get through what is sure to be a really tough run!’ We’re really thankful for Matt for doing this and hope he inspires a few others to take on the challenge this year to raise much needed funds for our programme. If you’d like to sponsor Matt, please visit his Just Giving page to make a secure sponsorship pledge online!