With all of the hustle and bustle of the holidays nearly complete and the big trip now happening within 48 hours, I thought that it would be a good time to catch everyone up on what's been happening with the project. (That and I really just don't like packing. Mom is freaking out.)

First and foremost, please forgive my lack of updating this blog over the past year, as it has been quite busy for me with graduate school, work, and various other projects and activities. However, this literary hiatus does not mean that there have not been any updates with the Little Eagles project. Despite my inability to participate in any major fundraising events, the donations have continued to come in, for which I am exteremely grateful. There are already plans in the works for some events in 2012, so be sure to keep an eye out for them.

For the past few months, I have been blessed with the addition of Sekou, a law student in Mali who has been brought into the Little Eagles team as Program Director. In the short time that I have been working with him, he has run some exceptional impromptu soccer clinics with youth around the capital city, Bamako (check out the youtube vids at www.youtube.com/user/LittleEaglesFootball), which we hope to replicate during my trip.

This trip has three primary functions for the two short weeks I will be there. The first is to run some pilot programs in Bamako and in the rural village of Dissan, which will allow us to develop stronger programs that Sekou will be running throughout the rest of the year. Second, we will be accompanying Scott Lacy, the founder and director of African Sky (and a really awesome dude to whom I am eternally grateful for giving me this incredible opportunity), to the various sites around rural Mali where new schools will be built in areas that have previously never had them (Mali has the second lowest literacy rate in the world). Little Eagles will hopefully become a big part of these schools and their programming in the future, using the power of soccer to further promote classroom learning. Finally, we're going to create some buzz about this project. Mali has a deep and rich culture, well known for its musical talent and some international soccer superstars. We're hoping to secure some big name endorsements (fingers crossed, Salif Keita). We will also be going to schools in Bamako to promote the project and to donate books, notebooks, and pens. The highlight of the trip will be two youth soccer tournaments, one in Bamako and one in Dissan, which I will make sure to write extensively about and provide plenty of media for you to enjoy.

I hope that you will join me on what promises to be a wonderful and interesting adventure to the mother land (cue Toto). I will do my best to consistantly update you with stories, pictures, and videos for you to experience this journey through my eyes, making new friends, experiencing a different and exciting world, and playing lots and lots of soccer.

Time to pack before Mum loses it.

R