Jim
Butler draws a map of where England is for some Argentinian
children who've never heard of it. Their village is pictured
below.
Travel
bore or travel guru?
Are you thinking of taking a trip and want to hear about other people's
travel experiences?
Do you have some travel advice to pass on?
Or maybe you fancy yourself as a travel
writer?
Gap
years are becoming more popular among students - including
those who spend a year raising money to pay for the increased
cost of university.
According
to the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service more than
22,000 students take a year off each year before starting
their studies and the number's growing.
Whether
you fund your travels by working or are lucky enough to have
access to mummy and daddy's credit card, gap years are now
big business.
Whilst
many travellers are still independent and plan their travels
themselves, put
"gap year" into any search engine and you'll find
a large number of companies offering packages.
Not
all gap year "voluntary work" is as useful as it
might sound. Critics argue some work's set up for the benefit
of the visitors' CVs and not for the communities they visit.
Emily Go with a registered charity. I found the year out group site helpful!
Alison Turner Africa, go with African impact on a working holiday. they prommise 100% of the money goes to Africa. no middle man, and great projects.
Andy - London The UK is saturated with Gap Year organizations. Many of these companies are charging individuals a huge amount of money especially for conservation work. Very often the projects are of little value to the locals and safety standards for Scuba diving expeditions are minimal. My advice to anyone about to part with £3000 for a 3 month placement/project is to scrutinize every aspect of your chosen company and seek independent advice before arriving in Peru for example and re-painting a village for the third time in a year!
