The BENITA children in Romania put on a great fundraiser this Easter in aid of the children in the slum in India!

What they raised is worth £75! It will make an enormous difference.

In this exciting year more and more people and feeling called to pray for London. Some friends of Grassroots are organising a 6 day prayer walk around the capital in the last week of July. Let us know if you would like to be put in touch with them!

Dim lights

In May last year, up to 150,000 people were displaced from Abyei when the Sudanese Armed Forces invaded the area, burned down the local Ngok Dinka population's homes and looted schools and churches for materials that can now be found for sale in Muglad market.

Government soldiers are still present in the town, but Ngok Dinka people have started to return to their villages in Abyei area, north of the river Kiir, and report that they are well-protected by the Ethiopian peackeepers (UNISFA) who are now fully deployed in the area. But they missed the last planting season while they were displaced and have no food available now. They are surviving on wild fruit and gum, but report that they are not sure if some of it is poisonous and that it is making them ill.

The trouble is that while the local people are returning, and UNISFA have cleared access routes of mines making it possible to distribute food, NGOs and even UN agencies are more reticent about re-engaging.

Abyei advocate Tim Flatman (who is also a friend of Grassroots) visited villages where returnees are clustered twice this month, with the assistance of the Ethiopian peacekeepers. He interviewed returnees about their reasons for returning and their needs. (Some clips from the interviews are available here: http://www.youtube.com/user/FriendsofAbyei) He was also able to take in some grain to some of the returnees .....MORE and to make a DONATION

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.

It was good to see Shiva at the church today; the lady we mentioned in Tuesday's blog who is suffering with tuberculosis. She goes into hospital next week for her treatment but brought her two children today to register them for the after school club. This means that they'll be able to go to the church each day after school, where they'll be supervised to do their homework as well as being given a meal.

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: