Open Arms received some wonderful news on the first anniversary of taking children off the streets into their care at the Open Arms Village: all the children got committed!

For those of you who responded to that news like me, and aren't sure whether it is a good thing or not when somene gets committed, let me assure you that in this instance it is fabulous news, as it basically means that the children are now totally and utterly legitimately in the care of Open Arms, and they can grow up secure in that knowledge. And when you think that for most of these children the alternative would be living on the streets, with very little security or identity, then it is clear how precious the committed status is.

And as if to reinforce the point, the same day, the local district children's officer approached Open Arms staff to ask them to take in another little child as an emergency case. I'm sure we will hear more of her story in time, but suffice to say the child in question is not yet 3 years old, but was found living on the streets, abandoned by an alcoholic mother who also has major psychiatric problems. The child has been taken in by the staff at the Open Arms village and was immediately given a teddy bear as a present by one of the older children.

So a day of good news stories but reminders of the horrific realities of life for so many out there. Oh, and in case you are wondering: child and bear are both doing well!

Yesterday the streets of London were packed with thousands of runners and even more thousands of spectators as the London Marathon took place. The British weather came up trumps and provided good conditions for both runners and spectators (no mean feat, and even harder given the usual pattern of weather for this fair isle!), and the result was a new course record of 2 hrs 5 mins and 9 secs, achieved by Kenyan runner Samuel Wanjiru.

Now, I can't find anywhere whether Samuel actually does much of his training in the Eldoret area, but there is a high chance that he does, because it is the centre of all the long-distance runner training for Kenya. And this raises a question for me: have I ever run past him?

On my two previous trips to Eldoret, to take part in the wonderful work going on out there, my days have usually started as they do in the UK, with an hour running out in the country. And whilst the UK runs don't see many other runners, the Eldoret runs always involved seeing some very fast, fit runners out on their training runs. There is no razzmatazz, or posh running gear, or high tech equipment, but these guys are fast and clearly training for more than just to keep middle-age spread off (my reason for running!)

Hence my question of earlier, although I ought to clarify that if I did ever run past Samuel Wanjiru it would have been when he was going in the other direction, otherwise clearly he would have been overtaking me in a cloud of dust!

Eldoret: home to some children's whose lives have been transformed through Open Arms, and home to some world-class runners. Who knows, maybe in years to come we will have a world-class runner whose life was transformed through Open Arms!

Yesterday in the Guardian newspaper there was an article about the threat that climate change is posing to the mightiest rivers of the world, including the Niger, the Ganges and the Yellow River http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/apr/22/drought-environment-waterways The article went to say that the impact on the rivers could threaten food and water supplies 'to millions of people living in some of the worlds poorest regions'. Today, in the mail, I received the latest copy of the Ethical Consumer magazine, a monthly publication that looks at the ethical background to producers of goods and services. It makes for a very interesting read, although doesn't make shopping easy! This month has a special feature on banks and building societies, and as I was browsing through I noticed a comment about how some of the banks (and I won't do a name and shame here, but happy to pass on info if you want it) are investing our money in projects that are effectively speeding up climate change due to the quantity of their carbon emissions, nature of output etc. Tie these two articles together, and it is easy to see how what we do in our own daily lives can affect people all over the world. Some of the actions are ones we know about, but even the issues of who we bank with, and where we shop can have wide-reaching implications and it is invariably the poorest who suffer most, as they have fewest reserves to fall back on. And the irony of that is that they are also the ones who are least likely to be investing in banks or doing any shopping, and so are doing least damage to the world, but suffering most from the consequences. Hmmmm, doesn't seem quite right, does it?

I've just been to visit a friend and her 2 week old baby. It was like walking into a flower shop, and a small version of Mothercare or Baby's R Us. Bouquets, baby clothes, toys and other gifts from all the well-wishers surrounded this beauitful little person, who slept amidst it all, oblivious to everything and everyone except when she woke up needing feeding or changing. She is in good health, has all she needs, is loved by mum, dad, big brother and the wider family, and all in all has had a very good start to life. Her family aren't wealthy by UK standards, but this little one wants for nothing.

It got me thinking though, about just what a different start it would be if she had been born into the same circumstances as over 50% of the babies in the world: families that live on less than $2 / day, that have to walk for a couple of hours to get water, that are lucky if they manage 1 meal a day, and often go to bed hungry. For the babies born into those families, life is a big lottery as to whether they will get past their 5th birthday, and even then will they have mum and dad, or will they have become another orphan to the HIV pandemic? How blessed we are, to have all that we have. And how important it is to remember the responsibility that comes with that privilege; the responsibility to use our blessings wisely, for the good of others and not just ourselves. I hope you have a good day, a day of blessings, and a day of opportunities to bless others along the way, whether they be at home or overseas.

We're so excited that the OAI Team Blog is up and running - we want to keep you updated about what's happening around the world with OAI.

I just heard from Rachel (OAI founder) in Kenya today. Though the Internet in Kenya has been frustratingly unreliable for the last couple of weeks, she was finally able to send an email - woo hoo!

She says the Village children are doing very well - as beautiful and cheeky as ever ;) And sweet baby Diana is 10 months old now and thrilling everyone with her newfound ability to shake her head "No," clap her hands on command, and give high fives! You have to see how cute and big she looks now:

Could she be any cuter?!