Testimonials

It was a great experience for my kids (16 & 12) and I to have participated in the Community Volunteer Program at Camp Kenya.  The staff was fantastic, the wildlife experience was unreal, and the people we met were unforgettable.  And a day in the life at Camp Kenya was always very productive.

It was the diversity, staying in a wildlife reserve and working in a local community school at the same time that made this trip of a lifetime.

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In total, how long were you away from home?

16 days

What was your motivation to take a gap break?

To experience a part of African life and help the local community in some small way. We also wanted to interact with children and see some of the local wildlife and environment.

How did you feel before you joined the programme?

Very excited and a little apprehensive about how we would deal with the climate, environment and daily living conditions.

How did Gap Year For Grown Ups compare with your expectations?

Our experiences greatly exceeded our expectations. The climate was hot, but comfortable, the environment beautiful, the people were so warm and friendly and after a short while we quickly adapted to Kenyan camp life.

What was the accommodation like?

Lovely. The tent was much nicer than we expected and having a bush shower every evening was an eagerly anticipated event. Also having a flushing toilet was a luxury. The beds were comfortable and the amenities provided were excellent. 

What did you think of the programme / did your project and destination meet your expectations?

Most certainly. The work was varied and of course depended upon the weather that day and also what needed to be done. It is important to arrive with an open mind and realise that all manner of different jobs help in some form or another. As for the destination, the location was beautiful. You really felt miles from anywhere and without our usual daily distractions back home you had time to think clearly, relax and enjoy chatting with fellow campers and the staff, who were all, without exception, really friendly.

What was the most memorable moment of your trip? Any anecdotes?

As there were so many wonderful moments it's hard to arrive at just one. Undoubtedly it is the Kenyan people who made the trip so memorable. You will never find a more welcoming and positive people anywhere in the world...

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I wish to nominate Camps International for the Responsible Tourism Award within the 'Best Volunteer Organisation' category. I was apprehensive about how a commercial company could deliver a worthwhile volunteer experience and benefit a local community. Soon my doubts were gone. The local staff provided a service to match any five star hotel with the added bonus of local knowledge/stories about the area, themselves and their families.

The projects were practical, worthwhile & sustainable:

• Porridge for the children - uplifting to see 100 happy faces;
• Painting the classrooms
• Planting the trees.

The enhancement of the school is showing a respect and value for education and encouraging parents and children to continue their schooling. The main benefit was the interaction with the children. They are eager to find out about the wider world - they are dreaming their dreams (if one child I met is driven to succeed, then it was all worthwhile).

The hidden extras made the experience: the village shops, local pub, Sunday service, - every effort was made for me to feel part of the local community and the value of the volunteers to the community was evident in the welcome received.

I just cannot wait to go back ' not to save the world but to share my Irish world with my Kenyan friends '.

From my initial contact with the Camps International offices, right through my two-week volunteer program at Camp Mukurumji in Kenya and then through the on-going correspondence with the staff, crew and locals (who I am proud to say I classify all as friends of mine now), has been an absolute joy.

Every person I came into contact with was passionate about their job and making my experience as wonderful and life-changing as theirs was. The work that Camps International do for the local community in Kenya is awe inspiring and it wasn't until I was there in Africa that I could fully comprehend how much the local people appreciate Camps Internationals work which is implemented in a non-intrusive way, often hiring local staff and including the community and schools they help in their plans and projects.

They are making a big difference in a community in need of assistance. The Camps International programs offer a lovely and unique mix of volunteer work and sight-seeing opportunities and I can hardly wait to go back and do my bit to help the Camps International team with their work.

I woke up this morning to silvery sheets of snowflakes blowing gently past my bedroom window. Just 12 hours ago I was walking through shimmering waves of heat rising from the tarmac at Mombasa International Airport. What a transition, from the sultry tropics of east Kenya to snow capped Londres in less than a day. After two weeks in Kenya I am happily ticking on African time and wish i was back in the land of ‘Jambo!’, red dirt and fried cassava.

Simone and I spent two weeks living in a remote community, about three hours by 4WD through undisturbed palm forests from Mombasa.We worked in the Stephen Kanja Primary School where six teachers alone cater for 600 students aged anywhere between four to 19.....

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They say that people come to Kenya for the animals and leave wanting to come back for the Kenyan people. My passion is travel, new places, new cultures and new experiences, it’s like an addiction. I have travelled to many underdeveloped countries, never before Africa, but as soon as I touch down in Kenya I know something is different., somehow it feels like I have come home.

I land in Mombassa, for a different kind of adventure – 2 weeks living in a tented camp and working alongside a rural African community in the Shimba Hills National Park, South East Kenya.....

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INSPIRED by the teenage gap year, adult volunteer vacations are the latest development designed to fill a growing demand from those looking for a truly authentic travel experience. Returning with tales of teenage epiphany and backpacks full of dirty washing from remote schools, villages and conservation projects, youngsters seem to have stimulated their desk-bound parents, uncles, aunts and cousins to think about a more meaningful sort of holiday......

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