Our parang-wielding,  cement-mixing, barmy army of  students from Kennet School took Borneo by storm!! With the help of the legend that is; “Chief” and the amazing Camps International staff at Bongkud we made massive progress on the community centre which will be the hub-bub of the village and provide a place for the community to congregate and hold important ceremonies and gatherings.

From digging, sawing and sweating in the scorching Malaysian heat, to getting covered in thick, orange mud from head to toe, the students from Kennet school “got stuck-in” (literally!) and made a huge impact to each project they attacked!!

The artists of the group put smiles on the faces of the local children by creating a beautiful mural for the kindergarten, whilst a team of  Rambo-like adventurers built signs and benches from scratch and marched them to the top of  Bongkud hill with the stealth of Royal marines!!

Other dedicated students really helped the community  to become self-sufficient by building a permaculture garden (using their trusty parang-skills), spent hours digging a septic tank for the nursery, spent unforgettable time teaching and playing with the local students and helped refurbish the single women’s centre!

Our faction bravely took on the jungle of Borneo with the same vigor, breaking records as they marched through the impenetrable, humid home of the infamous orangutan and blood thirsty leeches!  Each night we set up camp and fell asleep to the surreal orchestra of insects and jungle inhabitants.

Once again our students proved their physical fitness and determination, conquering the challenging terrain and working brilliantly as a team. Some tried new delicacies such as freshly caught frogs and fish and drank from vines and bamboo in true jungle fashion!

Batu Puteh provided our group with a new challenging jungle setting in which to set up camp.  Boating along the Kinabatangan river we spied reams of primates including the loveable, yet unfortunate-looking Proboscis monkey, a huge monitor lizard and for the lucky few a crocodile in action hunting its prey…an unsuspecting snake!

The team took to the reforestation project like no other, clearing a huge area of shrub with parangs and hand-made rakes.  In two days they planted over 1,000 trees, which in time will not only be the home to Orangutans and wildlife currently threatened by deforestation, but also covers the entire group’s carbon footprint…and some!

The expedition concluded with an unforgettable trip to the fantastic Orangutan sanctuary and a well-deserved break in KK on the beach where some of our budding stars performed a Malay/ Western combo of songs to the amusement of their peers and some of the locals!

What an experience!!  On behalf of me and all the camps staff, I can’t thank all at Kennet enough for making such an impact and for making the Borneo Jungle school Expedition an unforgettable experience of a lifetime! Lou.

Upon returning back from an amazing school expedition in Kenya, now seems a great time to look back and reflect- not just on the amazing and worthwhile projects that our great volunteers worked on, but also the fun and games of living as a large group.

Every year the students we take away on expedition work really hard in the lead up to expedition, laying in tubs of baked beans and knocking on doors to fundraise the money to get them out to country for the experience of a lifetime. So when we finally get them out there we are always in awe of how ready they are to continue this hard work. Meeting and more importantly, living alongside local communities is a great way to truly understand the challenges that these people face but to be a part of the solution too.

Being 15-18 years old and many of them preparing or going through A-levels, this acts as a mini gap year and seems the perfect age for them to really take in the experience and use it to its fullest in the future. But put a group of 20 odd teenagers in the middle of Kenya and try telling them that early mornings are the norm and hard work is always the aim of the day- the reaction that we get every time is truly awe inspiring. Making a difference is what we are there for and these guys seem to grasp that as soon as they are faced with the poverty surrounding them. Building, digging (lots of digging!), teaching and integrating into the communities is the daily routine and we all woke with smiles on our faces knowing that today, we are going to make a difference!

So with blisters anew and backs aching, it seem only fair to ensure that laughter and good times are par for the course- and one of the best places for this was on the beautiful coastline of Diani. What an incredible experience to be living on the beach with open top showers to watch the sun rising in the morning and songs around the camp fire in the evening.

Winston Churchill School, Liskeard School, Winsford Academy and Sir John Colfox school all came together to create an expedition team- they are now known as ‘The Kikundi’ which means ‘the pack’ in Swahili. The best part of travelling as a large group is the ability to meet new people and whether you knew the people you are travelling with before or not, there is never any question that you will become like a large family throughout the experience and make real lifelong friendships- unfortunately this also means that there are always tears when saying goodbye. But here’s to a reunion in October- I can’t wait to see you all again and hear how life has changed since you got back!

At Camps International we’ve seen a big surge in bookings and enquiries over the last few days… The Gap team have ringing ear drums at the thought of more calls tomorrow. Yes tomorrow is Saturday and the full team will be in to deal with the extra calls. We are also looking to add an extra departure date to some of our destinations especially Borneo and Cambodia due to their popularity. If you want to hold your place on a trip until 1300 on Monday 22nd August you can do so for £20.

Ngonzeni Kitchen

We know thats not much time to decide but with all the news coverage we’ve had lately tied in with past client references the phones won’t stop ringing. As you know the offer of 70 extra UCAS points from ASDAN is available if you sign up to Cope Level 3  has made a Camps International trip essential for those of you who just failed to make clearing. No you don’t get the points just for turning up or Whale watching you have to put in a lot of work.

Stuart Rees Jones CEO and founder (our lord and master) of Camps International has been quoted all over the national papers recently including the Telegraph, Times and Daily Mail. It hasn’t done much to improve his ego but its nice to know Camps International are the go to company for sensible comment on the Gap Year industry.

Don’t forget if you’ve traveled with Camps International you can recommend a friend and earn £50 cash if they book and travel. We want as many Gap Year volunteers as possible this year to continue our 100+ projects.

Healthcare Outreach