Last year Projects Abroad was approached by the British Safety Council to see if we would like to work together on training youngsters around the world about safety. On April 16th they ran their second Projects Abroad gap safety course. Twenty nine Projects Abroad volunteers gathered at The British Safety Council Headquarters in Chiswick to learn more.

The British Safety Council have agreed to sponsor a number of training days where Projects Abroad volunteers are paid their accommodation and travel costs to take the course which will allow them to go overseas and teach safety to classrooms in the developing world.

The morning focused on the volunteers learning about safety and taking their British Safety Council qualification “Level 1 Health and Safety at Work”. The afternoon was an opportunity to meet with Ian Birbeck from Projects Abroad and Madeleine Wright who went overseas teaching safety last summer. Ian and Madeleine focused on the practicalities of teaching safety in the developing world as well as some of the safety issues that students are met with when they are overseas.

Madeleine talked about how she approached it in Ghana last year;

“I designed a workbook for the lessons, and different posters for them to write on and colour in and we put them up on the walls and they really love them! We did a hazard spotting exercise around the school as well which they were pretty excited about! The children have designed fire safety posters, drawn hazards, made rules to help keep each other safe. I managed to teach a Healthy Living module in their science lessons as well which I have been able to link with health and safety”.

If you are interested in joining the next British Safety Council Course on June 18th please look at the attached flyer. The May 21st course is already fully booked. You can book onto the course by calling Sebastian Tarnowski on 0208 6001044 or email him at sebastian.tarnowski@britsafe.org.

Projects Abroad’s Amazon Rainforest Conservation Project in Peru is to appear on Ross Kemp’s “Battle for the Amazon” on Sky 1 this week. The programme is on at 10pm on Tuesday 20th and Wednesday 21st April.

Projects Abroad hosted Ross Kemp and his team for a week at our Taricaya reserve in Peru. They took some stunning footage of our reserve. The programme aims to highlight the rapid de-forestation of the Amazon rainforest caused by cattle farming, soya bean farming and oil exploration and wanted to team up with Projects Abroad as our volunteers have been working on the reforestation projects in the Amazon for years.

Find out more about Ross Kemp’s “Battle for the Amazon” here: http://sky1.sky.com/ross-kemp-battle-for-the-amazon-on-sky1-hd

Find out more about our Peru Conservation project here: http://www.projects-abroad.co.uk/volunteer-projects/conservation-and-environment/peru/

The course on April 16th is available to all UK volunteers aged from 17-23 joining Teaching and Care placements overseas. The course take place at the British Safety Council offices in Hammersmith, London. The British Safety Council will pay for all transport costs of volunteers as well as providing lunch. If you want to join one of these programmes email sebastian.tarnowski@britsafe.org.

There are more details outlined in the leaflet below;

Ian Birbeck, our Recruitment Director said “It is an exciting partnership. The volunteers who have joined the course before have really found them useful when they have been overseas. We are hoping that lots of our volunteers will take up this great offer from the British Safety Council not just to get a qualification but also be able to deliver Health and Safety Work Education to children that don’t get the opportunity otherwise.”

Ian at the World Travel Market

By Ian Birbeck, Recruiting Director - UK

This year Projects Abroad were invited to speak at the World Travel Market which is held annually at the Excel Centre, Docklands, London. It is a huge event which goes on over four days and brings together all sorts of people from within the travel industry. There are some amazing stands representing every part of the world. It is well worth going just to see the scale of the event.

On the Thursday of the event every year students are invited in to find out how to get to work in the travel industry. The Tourism Society approached Projects Abroad to find someone to speak to the students. I found myself speaking under the embarrassing title of “From volunteer to Recruitment Director of Projects Abroad”. It gave me the opportunity to show some pictures of me through the years from a young volunteer to an aging Recruitment Director! I included a few pictures of my fellow volunteer, Will Pashley first as a volunteer and then as Recruitment Director Australia.

The organiser of the conference was warm and welcoming explaining that I would be speaking after a few other speakers. One lady talked about how she got her role working at London City Airport, another talked about how to get a job working on the railways. I was waiting for the next speaker who hadn’t turned up. In walked two giant cartoon characters dressed in Busbies! It was a little bizarre to say the least as they came in hugging members of the audience and dancing down the aisles! After ten minutes I thought I was in trouble trying to settle the audience for my presentation.

They listened attentively maybe taken in by excited hand gestures I didn’t see until later on in the pictures. The 300 in the audience went away presumably bemused as to whether they ought to drive a train, dress up in a bizarre costume or aspire to a role working for Projects Abroad!

Rob, Rob’s beard and Faye

By Will Harper, Director - USA

Unlike myself who hates to run more than 3 miles at a time, Rob Kidd and Faye Stickings (aka Kiddstick) from the UK office of Projects Abroad will be running the Istanbul Marathon on October 18th and fund raising on behalf of the CT Scanner Appeal for Worthing Hospital. They have raised over 1,000 Pounds so far but I am sure they would love any support you would be able to give. You can learn more about why they are running and can donate on their JustGiving page. Good luck guys!

Projects Abroad has always welcomed lots of geographers onto programmes whether it is over the summer or on their gap year. Our Director Dr Peter Slowe worked in the Geography department of Chichester University before he started Projects Abroad.

If you are a UK national intending to study geography at degree level you might be eligible for a grant of up to £4,000 to join one of our programmes. The Royal Geographical Society is offering 12 gap experience scholarships for students wishing to take a gap year in 2010 before starting university in the autumn of 2011. It is simple to apply for one of these scholarships requiring you to fill in an electronic application form as well as getting a teacher to provide a reference.

For this years scholarships you need to apply quickly as the deadline is Friday 16th October. To find out more go to http://www.rgs.org/OurWork/LandL/LandL.htm and mention Projects Abroad

Harry Kent and Andrew Fryer, our intrepid scholars, with their diplomas

By Harry Kent, Programme Advisor - UK

Projects Abroad were recently approached by the British Safety Council who are offering all of our volunteers an all expense paid safety course.

The British Safety Council’s aim is to spread the message of safety to over 3000 children in the developing world, and to do so they require the help of volunteers.

Myself and Andrew Fryer (International development officer) attended the fist training day earlier this month.

The day began with a bombardment of useful safety information in order to complete a short but sweet examination. The results proved either that we are incredibly intelligent or the paper was extremely easy, I’ll let you guys decide.

After a great buffet lunch we moved on to a more discussion based workshop, here we split into groups and brainstormed the different ways we could get the message of safety across in the developing world.

There were great ideas of comic like posters, educational games. One main point that everyone agreed upon was that the BSC would need to adapt their course content to make it more relevant to issues overseas, for example Malaria, Cleanliness and drinking water.
International Development officer, Andrew Fryer, was pleased to see the potential in the project aims:

“This project fits in nicely with Project Abroads current worthwhile plan. Volunteers who take part in teaching and care placements can use the ideas discussed during the workshop and can apply it to lesson plans or include it in their roles as part of one of our care programmes. It will be great if we can use the excellent resource of volunteers and get them to channel their energy and enthusiasm to help improve the health and safety of children at our placements. Our first volunteer Madeline Wright was at the workshop and if was pleasing to see that she seemed confident she could make a positive a start on this project. Obviously health and safety concerns are completely different in the Developing world and indeed vary from country to country. But we look forward to starting this initiative and staying in contact with our volunteers to see how best to develop this programme.”  

The BSC are very committed to the cause and are willing to give time and money to any feasible suggestions and are hoping to use the drive and enthusiasm of the volunteers to help with their quest. This initiative has the potential to help many people around the world so if you can I strongly recommend getting yourself down to London for the next training day.

The course is available to all UK volunteers joining Teaching and Care placements overseas. The British Safety Council will pay for all transport costs of volunteers, accommodation (where necessary) as well as providing lunch. If you want to join one of these programmes have a look at the attached document and email examinations@britsafe.org. The next course is on Friday 20th February 2009.

By Harry Kent, Programme Advisor - UK

As another year comes to a close it makes us look back on Projects Abroad staff and how they have changed since their early volunteering days.

For those of you who are unaware many of the staff members for Projects Abroad began as volunteers themselves.

The two prime examples being Richard Clowes (Deputy Director) and Greg Thomson (Operations Director)

Here’s Greg in India on his gap year, as you can see sporting a baggy tartan shirt.

Things took a turn in 2008 with the purchase of a leather jacket, he’s now a little more grease and a little less little house on the prairie…minus the hair of course.

The two following pictures are of Richard Clowes our Deputy Director.

and

Richard Clowes has spent the last 10 years with Projects Abroad, but still we have many pictures from his early days. I myself cannot see too many differences, although there is certainly an attempt to be cool with that cap.

And finally a classic from Director Peter Slowe. Has he changed, I will leave it to you to decide??

I think I’ve got myself into enough trouble for one day, although all of this talking about how people have changed, I dread to think what is in store for my future.

Earlier this year we were approached by the British Safety Council to work together on a major programme to introduce Health and Safety Education to children in schools and care centres around the world. UK Volunteers are able to join a free course in London where they will be able to gain the Level 1 Certificate in Health and Safety at Work. They will then be given a briefing on how to deliver the programme when they are overseas.

The course is available to all UK volunteers joining Teaching and Care placements overseas. The British Safety Council will pay for all transport costs of volunteers, accommodation (where necessary) as well as providing lunch. If you want to join one of these programmes have a look at the attached document and email examinations@britsafe.org. The first course is on Friday 16th January 2009.

Ian Birbeck, our Recruitment Director said “It is an exciting partnership. We are hoping that lots of our volunteers will take up this great offer from the British Safety Council not just to get a qualification but also be able to deliver Health and Safety Work Education to children that don’t get that opportunity otherwise.”

By Ian Birback, UK Recruitment Director

Projects Abroad have become a popular source of photos for Crimson publishing. They produce a range of books covering all aspects of gap years and volunteering abroad.

On the front of their World Volunteers book they have taken one of our front of brochure images with Nicoline Laman Trip from Holland as the cover girl.

One of our very own volunteers Guy Hobbs was one of the first volunteers on the programme in Guadalajara, Mexico has written a book called Hands on Holidays. He has used Projects Abroad photos as a montage on the front cover.

On Teaching English Abroad we have supplied all of the cover photos. We even have a photo on the front of Work Your Way Around The World.

Watch out for the new edition of Archaeo-Volunteers where we have supplied pictures for the front cover again.

Well done to all the photographers!