With trepidation, Alex & my nephew Ben are joining a small group of warrior Hanson school students, who have signed themselves up for the volunteering experience of a lifetime. The volunteering expedition will take place over four weeks & each student must raise £3740 each to get there.

Kenya is the home of Camps International; projects have been running here for over 15 years. From housing and welfare to improving water and food security, healthcare and sanitation to education and training, wildlife conservation and environmental protection along with helping to develop sustainable livelihoods, these projects are real, grassroots initiatives developed in partnership with local communities to tackle some of the day to day issues they are facing. This year, they are currently working on 103 initiatives worldwide to support rural communities, protect wildlife and preserve fragile ecosystems. Living alongside the local communities, we will be just a stone’s throw away from the project work that 36% of the trip costs will be contributing towards. These projects are invested in by the local community and Camps have employed over 150 local staff worldwide (in our offices, as drivers, camp managers, cooks, security, housekeeping, project leaders, operations teams and guides) to provide sustainable and long-term employment. These guys are the experts of what they need, and how best to achieve it. Conservation work will be carried out through beach cleans, reforestation and helping reduce wildlife/human conflict. In the last 15 years Camps have removed 15 tonnes of waste from fragile coastlines, planted over a million tree’s and protected over 130,000 acres of wildlife reserve. These students will be playing a key part in continuing this vital work to help improve Kenya for the future generation.