News

May has been a month of great excitement with the implementation of our first initiative at the Ese'eja community of Palma Real, a visit from an old friend of Taricaya, Mauricio Ugarte, the commencement of our first in depth botanical investigation and some breathtaking wildlife sightings around the reserve.

Richard Clowes, Deputy Director of Projects Abroad is cycling 1,000 miles from one corner of Great Britain to the other, to raise money for Addis Ababa Safe House in Ethiopia.

Seventeen year old Manon Oliver from Esher is the 20,000th volunteer to join Projects Abroad. Manon and her brother, both from ACS Cobham International School have joined a two week medical project in India this summer.

Inca Trail - As always the volunteers on the Inca project have kept up their hard work on keeping the Inca Trail in Sicre (not far from Huyro) clear of vegetation. The volunteers have been working with machetes and pruning sheers to carry out this work. The work aims to protect artifacts which may be present on and around the Inca Trail.

Although our places are filling up for the summer we do still have some places available. Please give us a call or send us an email to check the availability of our summer placements.

After its emergence as a Projects Abroad destination last year, Morocco has been rapidly expanding in terms of volunteer numbers and placements! As of this month, we're beginning sports projects in and around Rabat, which is our base in the country.

Thailand is the only one of our destinations to take their main school vacation during April and the start of May. This year we've been running two exciting teaching programs during this time, one in Ao Nang and one in Chumphon.

The 2-Week High School Specials programs were introduced by Projects Abroad four years ago in response to lots of interest from students who wanted a gap year taster experience either in a school holiday or in the summer before starting university.

The Canadian Projects Abroad team will be hosting an Open House on April 10^th from 4-8 pm at our Toronto Office just south of Yonge & Bloor.

Country Director, Tim DeWinter tells us about a recent drawing competition organised by Projects Abroad:

On 2nd December 2007 two Cornish gig rowers began the ultimate rowing challenge: to row across the Atlantic Ocean.

The International Year of the Reef 2008 is a worldwide campaign to raise awareness about the value and importance of coral reefs and threats to their sustainability.

The African Cup of Nations began this month, with 16 teams battling it out in a 3 week soccer extravaganza. The eyes of the continent turned to Ghana - the host nation, and they did not disappoint.

From 8th - 24th August 2008 the biggest ever Olympics is being held in Beijing, China and you could be there!

Projects Abroad is launching three new destinations in 2008, Brazil, Jamaica and Togo.

News has hit Manchester United websites following a piece in the Independent newspaper this week about a possible link up between Manchester United and Projects Abroad's Eikomena Soccer team who play in the Moldovan A Division.

2007 was a fantastic year for Projects Abroad in terms of the sporting achievements of our staff.

Conservation director, Stuart Timson gives us the latest news from the Taricaya Reserve.

James Caan - of BBC Dragon's Den fame - has asked Projects Abroad to set up a teaching and care programme in Sudan.

On 2nd December 2007, two Cornish gig rowers began their adventure to row across the Atlantic Ocean in aid of Cornwall Hospice Care.

In the light of the recent arrest of Gillian Gibbons who was teaching in Sudan, Sky and BBC News asked Director Peter Slowe to appear on their evening news shows this week.

Assistant Manager, Catherine Stidston tells us how the volunteers in Sri Lanka had the chance to experience a traditional Sri Lankan wedding.

As the Khao Lak trip is where I left off last month, I’ll begin with that. Though the principal aim was to clean beaches, the trip was a good opportunity to show the present volunteers a wider view of Thailand and impress on them the enormity of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami as Phang Nga was the province that was hit the hardest, with whole coastal communities being practically wiped out.

South African volunteers witnessed a great accomplishment on Saturday night as the Springboks took the 15-6 victory over England for the Rugby World Cup!

Our Teaching Programme in Peru takes a different form in the school holiday period in January and February, when we run a scheme to improve the English of the local Peruvian teachers.

The conservation project at Legodimo reserve in Botswana has been developing rapidly. We now have a clear view of the Limpopo River thanks to our volunteers who spent a hard day’s work with their machetes.