Are you booked to travel with us in the next few months? We need a few volunteers to help with a promotional video we are making about Gap Years. If you would be interested in helping out please contact me jamesc@campsinternational.co.uk.

Thanks James

Marketing Manager

[video:http://youtu.be/qZ_pB28uVMI 100x100]

[video:http://youtu.be/qZ_pB28uVMI 100x100]

By Brian Collins

On Thursday 14^th July, 6 Winston Churchill students, Hannah Bracher, Katy Davidson (both 2010) Katie Slater, Joseph Gardiner, Felix Veale and Sam Crook (2011) and my good self all met in the staff room at 7 p.m to check, re-pack and then re-check our luggage again! We all agreed to meet at the school the following morning at 5.25 a.m. Of course there is always one who will be late, that one was me!! After months and months of saving and excitement for the students, the moment was finally here, and so off we went on an adventure that none of us would ever forget and probably never experience again.

When we arrived at Heathrow, we all didn’t know what to expect. We bashfully introduced ourselves to the other members of our travelling group of whom we were going to spend the next 4 weeks with. There were 16 other students from three other schools, Liskeard Community School, Cornwall, Sir John Colfox School, Dorset, and Winsford Academy, Cheshire.

After a long days travelling, which included a near traumatic experience at Nairobi Airport during our attempt not to miss our connecting flight to Mombasa, we arrived at our first campsite which was situated south of Mombasa in the holiday resort named Diani. It was 3.30 a.m! Here, we would spend the next 8 days. Diani was paradise!! Our campsite was situated approximately 100metres from the beach. Our main objective at this campsite was to complete our PADI Scuba Diving Certificate. Despite the fact we got to swim with fish in the Indian Ocean, the course was actually quite demanding but the students were fantastic in their persistence and all obtained their certificates. We took part in a little bit of community work while at Diani which included a beach clean up where our students along with students from a local school spent a number of hours cleaning a couple of local beaches.

On the 23^rd of July we departed Diani and made our way to our 2^nd resting spot which was Kaya. Although there was a slightly sombre mood leaving the paradise of Diani, the students were quite excited about the prospect of getting down to some work and fulfilling the experience they had come so far and waited so long for.

Kaya was very different to Diani. The campsite was very secluded in what could only be described as the African jungle. Here the use of ear plugs was essential at night time with the noise level of various different animals and creatures clamorous. The experience at Kaya was a real taste of life in Africa with the idea of having a 20 second shower and actually having to travel 2 km to physically freight the water for all uses were two among many examples. We were introduced to the community leader who conducted the project work with us. During our five day stay, we helped finish off the construction of a new community centre which included building the structure of the building as well as undertaking the process of Thatching, which involved gathering leaves from coconut trees and knitting them together to form adequate roof cover. We also conducted some forest clear out work which involved getting down and dirty with some machete cutting which as you can imagine excited the boys! Some students paid a visit to the local medical centre were they were truly astonished at how poor the facilities were. A very touching moment occurred when one of the Winston students, Joe Gardiner, paid for malaria treatment for a young boy no older than a few years.

Five days in Kaya past and so it was onto camp number three. It was just under a 2 hour hike through the country side and we were glad to get to the free flowing water and electricity assessable Makongeni!

 Makongeni was quite different to Kaya. It had a much bigger community and was also more developed (they even had an internet café!!). Here we again took part in community work which involved brick laying and desk making for the local school. We also helped build a new house for a family of ten whose house had been recently burnt down. This was a huge success and the students were extremely determined to finish the work before it was time to leave. It was also gave divulgence in to what life is like to live in a typical African household- a large mud house that is no bigger than your average sized living room at home. After the completion of the mud house, there was a great sense of satisfaction and accomplishment among the students that would last for a long time after.

After Makongeni, we made the long journey north towards the wondrous Tsavo which was to be our last campsite. 

There is only one word to describe Tsavo- Magnificent!! When we took a left turn off the Mombasa highway, we literally entered the Tsavo country side, were within a few moments, we were spotting animals we had only ever seen in the zoo! This was to be the resting place for our last week of the trip. Despite being situated in the middle of the African wildlife play ground, we had a large amount of work to do. This included digging a water trench for a new water area for animals near the campsite. We also paid a visit to the local school were we helped build a new toilet area as well as help with the creation of new building bricks. We also got an insight into what life were like in the school, a school of which had a population of approximately 720 pupils, 350 or so desks and with a total of SIX teaching staff. Do the math and just imagine the class dynamics in those classrooms just with the sheer number of students. However what was quite striking was how willing and attentive all the students were. Some students walking a whole 5 km just to get to a classroom that would have one hundred or so other students. It really began to hit home just how lucky we really are and it took a while for it all to sink in. While at Tsavo, we also took part in the process of making Elephant dung paper!! Yes we actually had to physically handle and maul elephant manure in order to make what turned out to be quite interesting writing paper! On one of our last days we did a Safari trip through Tsavo East Wildlife Park were everything from lions to elephants and giraffes to zebras were seen. It was a truly outstanding way to finish of the whole expedition.

Our final night in Kenya was spent in the luxurious Aga Khan Academy School Mombasa, which made Winston and indeed 95% of schools in the UK look mediocre to say the least. And so on the 12^th of August, we departed for the riot stricken UK, tired, drained, under weight and slightly emotional, but the entire better for what was a truly breathtaking awe-inspiring journey that would remain with us until our graves and with friendships and relationships that would last a life- time. The six students who travelled, worked and excelled in all the challenges that faced them are an absolute credit to their school, their families and most importantly themselves.