Camps International

I can see Camp international has started the marketing campaign again.
I will be interested in more updated posts, although I guess with Covid they did stop.
it sound so unethical in so many levels that I am shocked parents could pay for a holiday like this or push their kids to fundraise for such an expensive holiday packaged like white man does good in poor people land. The British arrogance of hundreds of years which just gets transferred to young people thinking that going to paint a couple of schools will change the country and they actually can make a difference by being unskilled and on a school holiday is shocking.

Any more recent information on this?

Dd is gagging to go to Peru with mates but I cannot see her being able to fundraise all this money AND keep up her (super-busy) extra-curricular/social life AND (most importantly) give proper attention to her GCSE work.

I work from home and have a v limited social circle so we couldn't do any of the big 'curry night/quiz night' type fundraisers. She's convinced she can raise it from busking, but I can see it being unachievable and I can't afford to lose this money if it isn't refundable.

Any recent updates on this? My daughter has the opportunity to go but I was concerned before reading this, but after reading all these historic posts, even more so.

That's shocking kikitwo!

Vaccinations cost £172,rucks sack which cost £180, four seasons sleeping bag £120 and the list goes on

My friend's son wanted to go and raised over a grand which was paid to CI. He couldn't raise the rest so can't go and can't get his money back either.

What are these extra costs that I'm hearing about?

DonT be fooled by camps international,they are only interested in your money.i spent £6000 on this trip,£4000 was raised by my daughter over throughout her highers and the rest,which we were not told about was paid by myself and her dad.
The tramatic experience my daughter experienced is unforgivable,I spent ten days in tears and fighting with camps to keep me informed what was happening with Laura.laura was the one who kept me informed by her own mobile,even the teachers used that to keep me updated as camps wouldn't give the teacher a phone.i hate to think what my phone bill will be,but if Laura hadn't taken her mobile I would've been going out my head with worry til camps contacted me.i have threatened them with the papers and have spoken to a lawyer due to lack of care,lack of communication and just bad manners.now I've found out through Laura that aithough Laura wasn't allowed to climb Michu picchu she was left to stay behind in a hostel with one of the teachers.although they "paid" for Laura to hav a back massage and eat out of Starbucks,doesn't make up for the fact they left her behind and she didn't climb that mountain,which is what the whole adventure was about.i didn't want her to do the first leg of the trip as I'd been advised it was the hardest but I wanted her to experience at least a part of it.god knows who was behind making the decisions but clearly not a medic otherwise they wouldn't have given her milk if she had been sick in the first place.
I hold camps international completely responsible for their lack of care and especially towards a diabetic.i will be placing a formal complaint once Laura returns.

I would be interested to know how much profit Camps International makes from all the people who fail to raise the full amount and don't get their money back.

Wow Linz - just shot yourself in the foot there!

Beware folks if your kid goes on a CI trip and has the misfortune to become hospitalised rather than replying to you and keeping the details private, if you dare vent your worry on MN CI will publicly post about your child's parasitic infection, breakfast details and use their public posting to defend their actions. Well done - why not write to the Daily Mail as well - you'd get more people knowing about poor Laura!

Hi kikitwo – I thought I would reply to your post to reassure you that we take all of our student’s health and safety extremely seriously.

We can’t comment fully on your daughter’s personal medical details online due to data protection. We have a full medical incident report which we will discuss with you if you’d like to contact us here at the UK HQ – 01425 485390.

I can however address some of the issues you’ve raised. Although your daughter did miss the set breakfast times on a couple of occasions, we are looking into why there was no food kept back for her. The teachers did go and get her some cereal and milk as soon as it became apparent that she had not eaten. The vomiting was caused by a bacterial infection in her stomach, no other members of her team were taken ill.

We will wait until we have the complete factual report from the country before alerted a parent to a hospital visit. We operate a 24hour emergency phone so should your daughter’s health been in a serious state we would have been alerted and in tern alerted yourself immediately.

Your daughter contacting you directly from her own mobile phone meant that information was getting to yourself before we had the full factual picture from our team in Peru. We apologise if this meant a confusing or upsetting time for you. You can always reach us at the office via phone, email, social media, along with our 24 hour emergency phone line.

Our team out in Peru have gone to great lengths to ensure your daughter had a great birthday, a card was signed by all in the camp, they made her a video, got her a birthday present and we got her a Piñata and filled it with sweets for her. I’m sure you’ll be pleased to know she was made a fuss of on her birthday.
The day after her birthday she was released from hospital and has been looked after by Jess one of our team members out in country. They have visited museums, markets, eaten out in local restaurants. We have done our best to ensure she isn’t missing out, she’s enjoyed meeting up with other school groups for activities and meals. Your daughter also enjoyed a lovely massage.

Well enough to join the rest of her team she will be taking a train to Machu Picchu (paid for by Camps International) and I’m sure she will have a fantastic time during the rest of her trip. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch should you want to discuss further, Best Wishes

I have read maany of the comments regarding Camps Inter and some of them are very true.
My daughter spent the past year raise money herself,working weekends and using all her savings to go on this "once in a lifetime" opportunity to Peru,in fact she is there at this moment.She achieved the goal and the £2000 ove the £4000 quoted was notably found too.she is diabetic and injects 4 times a day so my concern was trying to find places to keep her insulin cool.i had various meetings with teacher,consultants etc, I thought I'd covered everything.
Two weeks into the trip Laura Texs me to say she was ill so I reassured her she would b looks after n try get some rest,very difficult camping.Two mornings she went without breakfast as they had ran out so the teachers has to go buy some food for her,but then she fell ill,so the "medics" gave her milk which made her vomit blood.she was then rushed to the docs,only Laura by this time had told me what was happening no communication from camps.six and a half hours went by before I found out from Laura she was bein admitted to hospital,being taken by a teacher and the doctor...stil on a drip and still nothing from camps.i was going outa my mind,couldn't find anyone to talk to or any info.long and short camps contacted me 7 hours after she had been in hospital.by then I wanted to kill someone.she was in hospital for 3 days of which I herd from camps twice,Laura used her mobile as well as the teacher to contact me and keep me informed.she had a bacterial infec in her stomach,infestation of parasite,salmonella and then a reaction to the if drugs.ontop of that she turned 17 and her fone had run out so I cudnt contact her as her rucksack was still lying in a tent along with her smelly wet clothes.i kicked up hell and phoned everyone including the school but nothing.she returned to the camp yesterday but was left at the hostel while the group went out walking.last night she was informed she wouldn't,although she felt better, be walking to macchu picchu,the whole point of the journey,she has to stay at the hostel for four days while everyone experiences the £6000 she paid to go there.ive threatened camps with lawyers as they have been totally negligent,uncommunicative with me and just down right uncaring.ive spent the past week not sleeping and trying to be there for Laura but underneath I'm angry,hurt and devastated for Laura.the worst birthday with no contact and no cards coz they were in her rucksack.
I wouldn't advise anyone to use this company as they will easily take your money but give nothing back.i will take this further as this shouldn't go unnoticed.please be warned and don't find yourself in this situation that you have no control over.look after your kids and spend your money on a holiday than a holiday from hell with Camps International

I have read all the posts and can see where many of you are coming from. I can only speak from my experience and no more than that.
Eldest son went to Borneo in 2011, middle son to Tanzania in 2013 and daughter will be going to Ecuador in July this year. For each of them we have paid for half of the trip and they have raised the rest with fund raising and working. It was very hard for them to get the money together and social things had to be compromised. Relatives gave kit list items for birthdays and christmas. Many of their friends had no parental contribution and raised the whole lot themselves in plenty of time. We live in a rural area with high levels of deprivation in parts not the affluent south east. The boys found the experience absolutely amazing and wouldn't have missed the opportunity. The camp work and meeting local people was a real eye opener for them. They felt safe and well looked after by CI. It is an expensive experience but it's not all holiday and I'm sure there are alternatives out there - ultimately its down to personal choice. If your child is determined to put in the hard work for a couple of years beforehand then it is possible.
As a family we don't regret the experience so far.

Ok, This has now been introduced to us through my son's school. I must say that I am annoyed about them selling expensive working holidays with added extra costs to kids who some are bound to put pressure on parents for this trip. It would be cheaper to go with a charity and the rewards for working so hard can still be achieved and put onto CV's. From what I have found looking into this, it just adds more unnecessary pressure during exam time for kids to raise the funds. It doesn't give them enough time to do it and C I just want the money quickly by whatever means. Teachers can get free places according to how many students sign up, so that is probably why the schools allow them in to do their pitch. They say you can start fundraising straight away but you get no access to what C I can offer as support until you have booked and paid your large deposit. I've noticed a small print clause saying that C I have no liability in relation to any terrorist act that could happen ... which leaves the question as to who is? Unless you are prepared to argue endlessly and no doubt be able to prove that it was their negligence that caused your child to be in this type of danger. To me this shows they are more interested in making money than the care and welfare of the kids. With no refunds or assurances, this seems to be a big con which can be detrimental to kids as well as their parents. I would also call it mis-selling if they have omitted to tell you the full information BEFORE booking. My son will not be going on this trip, as the risks far outweigh the benefits and it is far too expensive for "an ultimate experience" that he could get elsewhere at a more relaxed time at any time and anywhere he wants. If he wants to go abroad with something similar he can do so in an alternative, more cost effective way after he has done his exams and raised enough funds without any rushing or pressure. I really hope no one else loses a large amount of money with this, and I will no doubt be letting the headmaster know what I think about this as well!!! :-)

Hey guys
I'm recently back from a 3 week volunteer placement in Asia. The NFP Organisation I went with charged me under £100 for accommodation (decent hotels), food and travel and project. We booked our own flights and organised our own visas (with support). Support staff met us at the airport and stayed with us for the duration. I strongly encourage you to google lower cost alternatives. Yes, they are more difficult to find, but my experience of them has been awesome :-)

I am a student who was meant to leave today to go on this trip, but due to attacks that have taken place in Kenya i felt it was unsafe for me to travel and so did many other students in my position, however camps international have been no help to me, my family or any students. As a company the come across as a money making company that are willing to risk the well-fare of students. they did change the location of the expedition from Kenya to Tanzania after weeks worth of us as a school and other schools arguing camps international for them to finally move the location however they still expected us to fly to Kenya and stay the night in a hotel. i have decided not to go and the company refuse to reimburse me because the trip in their view is still safe. Do not go on any trips with this company as they do not have your child's (my own) safety as their priority.

Hi Everyone,

our son went to Borneo with CI this Monday and I am really pleased that we have been able to make it possible for him to go.

I've read through the previous posts and I can empathise with many of your comments. I won't disagree it has been incredibly hard work raising the money. The one thing that we didn't appreciate was all the hidden extras. ..these came to about £2,000!

advice I would give...car boot sales are great, ask friends and family and work colleague if they have things they can donate to sell. We always tried to sell things so that people felt they were being supportive but were getting something out of it also. Visit the Easy fundraising website, we made 2 months payments from this and it costs you and people who use it nothing. Bag packing was also good and again we raised 1 months money through this..not bad when you consider it was split between the group

We thought it would be impossible, but start as soon as you make the commitment and it makes it less daunting.

My son is in Borneo right now.
This is what he did to raise the money:-
Boot fares, eBay, curry nights ( asked a local restaurant to host a set meal for 50, they charged him £10:00 pp, he charged guest £15:00. )You might be able to get a better deal! He did this one several times, with a raffle. Each time raised over £300!
Applied to grant educational travel trust, (google or ask local library)
Plus usual cake sales etc.
He did gardening and car washing.
He made it ! Curry nights were our best fund raiser. The restaurant made more money on drinks and filled a quiet night. If you don't have 50 friends ( school, church, family etc) share the event with another child)
We asked ferry company's and hairdressers etc for raffle prizes)

Good Luck.
Tina

With reference to the statement: "Payments that we receive do become non refundable at certain points during the lead up to travel. This is something that should be made clear in every parents presentation, before you sign up. We hope you can understand that, whilst we are profit making, we have strong philanthropic and ethical objectives. We are continuously investing in to our host countries and committing to projects months in advance. These non-refunable points are also in-line with some key planning dates - such as when we book flights for each of our volunteers"

I tried to cancel a year and 3 months before my son travelled and was told I could not get a refund! Flights have not been booked, the date of travel is still quoted as sometime in July 2015.
I'm not against this organisation, I think it will be a valuable, life changing experience for my son, it's just that we were told categorically that if we cancelled within a reasonable time, we would get a refund, but would lose our deposit, which was fair enough. This turns out not to be true. I would not have entered into this agreement as I know how fickle my son is. He paid the £350 out of his own savings and I made sure he knew that it was a commitment that he would lose the money if he backed out of the trip. Camps gave an excellent sales pitch in a pupil assembly, the parents were then invited to the same one, so he saw it twice and was completely sold on the idea.
After sitting for hours at car boot sales and craft fares making £15 a time, suddenly the thought of raising £4000 is too daunting.

Could I therefore suggest that CI make it explicit to all parents during their sales pitches if children need an armed escort on their expeditions. Every single child at our school has failed to fundraise anywhere near the £4000 (ok, just under). Fundraising is time consuming & caused my daughter a lot of stress - not helpful with exams. I have no doubt she will have a wonderful time & I expect it will shake her out of her teenage lethargy, but if we had our time over again, we would not have fallen for their sales pitch & as another person wrote, there are a lot of additional costs. And of course CI are a profit making organisation. Interesting that the CEO works out of an office in the UAE.

Hi Ladies. I'm Hannah and I work for Camps International in the UK.

This thread has come to my attention so I thought it might be helpful for me to shed a bit of light on some of your queries and concerns.

First and foremost, we understand that our expedition opportunities won't be for everyone, for a variety of reasons. It's great to hear that some of you have attended our parents presentations in several schools recently. We make no secret of the fact that we want to recruit travelling students from every school that we visit, but the evening is not designed to deliver a hard sell. More to give you all of the information that you need to decide, as a family, whether the expedition is right for your son or daughter.

We also realise that the cost of our expeditions are a lot of money by anyones standards! However, we are very proud to be industry leaders who deliver expeditions of unrivalled quality. We offer real value for money when you consider the level of infrastructure and support that we have in place for all of our school expeditions. This ranges from our own permanent camp locations, permanent members of in-country staff, qualified expedition leaders to accompany every team, scheduled in-country transport, all food and drinking water - as well as flights and all of the expedition projects and activities - inc. a trek or an open water scuba qualification.

Whilst the fundraising isn't easy, it is achievable and the frequent success stories that we receive from students is testament to this. Of course every family is different - some will agree to meet their son or daughter half way others will rely entirely on fundraising to pay for the trip. These factors are all part of your decision making process and we understand that. We do offer a staggered payment plan for families who are not keen on the Direct Debit option and we also offer flexibility on the initial deposit amount, on a case by case basis. We try and do as much as we possibly can to make these experiences achievable and manageable for everyone who wants to be involved.

Payments that we receive do become non refundable at certain points during the lead up to travel. This is something that should be made clear in every parents presentation, before you sign up. We hope you can understand that, whilst we are profit making, we have strong philanthropic and ethical objectives. We are continuously investing in to our host countries and committing to projects months in advance. These non-refunable points are also in-line with some key planning dates - such as when we book flights for each of our volunteers.

Finally, I would like to re-assure you that our expeditions are far more than just a holiday. All of our projects are long term, sustainable and designed in partnership with deserving rural communities. The input from our volunteers has a huge impact. Whether it's improving school facilities or planting trees in fragile ecological areas. We also create permanent jobs for local people in all of our destinations which is beyond valuable in areas where poverty is high and employment opportunities low.

As well as this there is a huge emphasis on the learning objectives and personal development of your sons or daughters. Starting with the fundraising all the way through to the expedition itself. This is an unforgettable experience which promotes a huge amount of valuable life skills from leadership to teamwork and problem solving. There is also the fantastic element of pushing young people outside of their comfort zones and providing them with a truly eye opening experience, fully immersed in different cultures and traditions. It is a fantastic introduction to travel for most and certainly something that is held in high regard by Universities and employers.

Phew! That was a seriously long response, but I hope this helps in some way to explain the ethos of Camps International and the way in which we operate. If you have any direct queries please don't ever hesitate to contact us on 01425 485390.

To be honest, you can go as a whole family on an adventure holiday to Kenya for not much more, and that is for all the family. A holiday in Borneo including helping at orang sanctuary comes in at under £5k for a family of 4. And these are just through virgin holidays. Nonw of these countries really needs unqualified teenagers turning up to "help out" they have enough unskilled labour already. I would rather spend it ona holiday for the whole family to the same destination,

Yes we have had an awful time with CI trying to get them to change the venue from Kenya. Had we not been a large group of parents, I doubt anything would have changed at all - their stock line is that they follow FCO advice. Having said that, there were also a handful of parents who thought we were over reacting to the recent terrorist attacks in Kenya. Most of the parents I've spoken to feel annoyed with themselves for falling for the sales pitch. Perhaps CI should have told us that the children need an armed escort for travel in Kenya when the made their sales pitch to us & our school children - I wonder how many would sign up for it then!! They told me that I take a risk every time I step outside my house, but I don't remember ever needing an armed escort with me every time I go to Tesco!

My daughter came back from school excited about the prospect of going on a CI trip to Peru. Then she told me the cost - around £4000 - to be raised over the next 12 months (by her!).
I attended the 'sales pitch' a week later where the whole event came across as a rather exotic holiday. Undoubtedly it would be an amazing experience for a young person who has only know the UK or been on the odd package tour to Spain.
Unfortunately the 4 weeks adventure which received most of the attention during the presentation had the dark cloud of the 12 months of fundraising that was necessary beforehand.
A quick calculation made that around £300 per month or £75 per week. There was no way my daughter would raise that amount, especially given it would be exam year too. Then there was the issue about refunds if they gave up, already mentioned above.
Of course there are those kids who have the drive and determination to make things happen, so I wouldn't want to deter anyone. However, I am quite certain in our case, I would be footing a large part of the total amount.
So my advice is think carefully and consider the options. I might consider it for half the amount - say in the region of £2000 - which seems a more realistic sum in this current climate.
Given that our Government give so many billions in overseas aid, I cannot understand why they don't run such schemes with some form of sponsorship.
My daughter attends a very ethnically diverse school and in my opinion there is no better way of teaching tolerance and understanding between people than by sharing the same environment and observing different values.

Be very careful with Camps International, following all the trouble in Kenya CI are refusing to cancel our schools trip to Kenya and are effectively wanting to send our children to a war zone! They are refusing to refund the money however they are willing to transport our children through Kenya to Tanzania (which in my opinion is just as dangerous!)
And its not only the parents, the children are scared about travelling to Kenya having seen at least 70 people killed over the past 2 days.
Out of around 20 children at least 14 have cancelled and will not get their money back, we the parents are now looking to take legal action against Camps and also we are shortly going to be contacting the press!!
As it states on the top of their webpage ETHICAL JOURNEYS WITHOUT COMPROMISE!! Should read unethical company unwilling to compromise!!

Hello, I'm 16 and going on the trip to Tanzania with camps international this summer. Its been hard to gather up all the money and its likely your kids will get tired of fundraising after a couple of months. My parents or relatives have paid for almost all of my trip. There are also lots of unexpected costs such as 2 visas, lots of injections (mine came to about £360) and the list of equipment is painfully long. The initial quote of somewhere around £3700 gets boosted up to into the £4000's which is a hefty cost for a family.
I'm delighted to be going on the trip but the communication with the company hasn't been very good, and the extra costs are not a welcomed surprise. I'm sure it'll be a great experience in the end- though.