Field Base team has landed!

Getting everything ready for the arrival of the Volunteer Managers and Participants over the next few weeks, an advance team of eager Raleigh volunteers has already arrived at mission control - known as Field Base - on the outskirts of Kota Kinabalu, Sabah's main city.

Field Base is the hub of all Raleigh's planning and support for our projects around Malaysia, so there is plenty to do to make sure that all the preparation and equipment are sorted out, ready for the projects to kick off in earnest in mid-February. So far, the following team members are in residence, just about recovering from jet lag and getting stuck into their respective roles:

• Country Director: Jim Clements
• Country Programme Manager: Larissa Robson
• Deputy Expedition Leader: Ed Dimmock
• Youth Worker: Penny Hinchcliffe
• Medic: Antonia Stocken
• Accountant: Nic Steele
• Administrator: Gill McLellan
• Logistics: Martin Knowles and Martin Warnock (yes, it does get confusing!)
• Communications Officer: Anna March

And last but by no means least, we are being looked after by kitchen magician Lolita, whose mid-afternoon fried bananas alone may single-handedly guarantee that any hopes we may have had of losing weight while in Malaysia will almost certainly be in vain...