There is always a sense of irrational anxiety when I’m about to leave for another big international project. A few years ago I was doing quite a lot of these so I was jumping on aeroplanes like getting a taxi. Normally I get a hotel the night before a flight to make sure I’m near the airport this time with it being a lunchtime flight I’m risking trains. Again very risky knowing their reliability, so wish me luck. The trains were remarkably reliable. I ended up using the train split app and this reduced the train ticket price (www.train split.com).
Luton Airport now has the new x-ray machines where you don’t need to take everything out of your bags and this made Security a lot more efficient on their both of my bags got stopped. The guy was showing me the technology and everything is done in 360 imaging it is pretty impressive. It must’ve been new technology because they were training staff at the same time. It was a very pleasant flight one eventful the priority booking got me a very nice window seat with lots of legroom but unfortunately it’s in the middle of the plane so you were never to end at last off the plane when they open both the doors!
You are then greeted to the non-EU channel – well you have to present your British passport and this leads you feeling a little disconnected with Europe.
I got a very warm welcome from my friend Basia who picked me up from the airport. She is the wife of one of my best friends who we’ve worked with since he was 17, he now has his own foundation in Poland. Over the years I’ve really got to know Basia’s family so I’ve got a couple of days at the end of the project to go and have some time with them. Really looking forward to this although Jareck (dad) does like his vodka! To treat this as a health warning!
The first night was a very easy night, just a meal with the participants and then starting the training in the morning.
It’s nice to be back in Lublin and the temperature is just under 20° which is unseasonally warm. By the end of the event everywhewre was covered in snow!
. 
Over the next seven days we are able to deliver an incredible programme. We based it around something called the heroes journey by Joseph Campbell (https://youtu.be/GNPcefZKmZ0?si=F_fSxNNoai4a0d9m) and the key focus is all about developing leadership skills and a better understanding of mental health. The group fully embraced the methodology and was one of the hardest working groups I’ve come across. Very professional, very committed and really up for doing things slightly different.
On the third day this allowed us to do a detailed presentation about our Mental Health Motorbike which was really warmly received by the participants. Mental Health first aid training was new to many of the six countries participating but it is something they are interested in exploring back home. So being able to share how they access this training was really positive.
It was also very nice to spend time with my friends Polish family. Jareck, Eva, Basia, Ben and their two children Bruno and Bianca.
I had a small mini adventure on the way home when I went to check my suitcase I was told that my ticket has been sold to somebody else. I wasn’t guaranteed the place on the plane and I would have to wait till the very last minute to find out! This is quite common practice now on low-cost airlines so I do recommend checking in in plenty of time to avoid this. I was very lucky I got a seats on the plane at the last minute and was eventually able to get home the same day.
There are many beautiful places in Poland to visit and it is highly recommended because the people there are very friendly. It is steeped in architecture and history. The food prices are very good and you can get a big meal including drinks for between £9-£12. There are some good cheap flights over there, Gdansk is a great place if you want a party weekend on a budget.
In summary I found the whole training to be very interesting exploration around Mental Health across Europe. It is clear this is an emerging issue as the EU priorities are changing to engage young people to develop more resilience skills because they acknowledge how bad things are getting. This is a mixture of lack of opportunities, threatening global security situations, legacy from the pandemic and various effects of technology. But whatever we do we have to keep working with people to support them, this makes our charity more and more relevant for the future.
Below is a 5 hour challenge we gave to the group to produce some fun videos, imagery and stories based around the heroes journey, leadership and Mental Health. They had to learn how to use the 360 cameras to tell a story and then package it within the Kuula 360 software. It was a great fun with some very random materials!!