Camps International

Girl Guides run these sorts of trips and the costs are more in the 2,500 to 3,000 range which indicates to me that there is a healthy profit in there. With guides, the leaders have to raise the same amount of money as the guides. My daughter did one a few years ago and she raised the money through a lot of hard work She enjoyed doing the fund raising and matured a lot in the process. Some of it was done as a group but about 80% individually. As parents we bought all ingredients, materials etc for whatever was being made so that any money raised was profit - otherwise it would have been a real slog. The trip itself was a fantastic experience

I tried to get my money back and they refused. We were definitely told in the sales pitch that if we cancelled, we would lose our deposit. Turns out this is a lie. You lose everything that you've paid (over £1000). I'm now torn between losing that money or carrying on forking out another £3000. The whole experience has put my son off and he doesn't want to go now. He's had some bad money raising experiences (spending hours making cakes and earning £1.50). We've had very little support from school or Camps Int. Someone did put a very accurate blog of the real story (badly erected buildings with little purpose etc) but it has been taken down. I just hope that if he goes, it will be as amazing as they report it to be. I have spoken to some students who went last year and they said it was a worthwhile, life changing experience. It should be at £4000!!!!

I managed to get them to cancel the invoice but only after the school intervened. They said it had been sent in error. I never managed to get his deposit back so he lost £350 altogether for filling in a form - he hadn't had anything else from them except a receipt for the money.

Does anyone else have experience of this?

Hi. My son has just decided to withdraw from his trip- only a couple of months after paying the initial deposit - he realised that the fundraising was going to be almost impossible. Anyway, we have just received a bill from Camps International for an additional £1350 on top of the lost £350 deposit for cancelling - half the total fee for the trip for changing his mind two months in. Has anyone else experienced this?

Hi. My son has just decided to withdraw from his trip- only a couple of months after paying the initial deposit - he realised that the fundraising was going to be almost impossible. Anyway, we have just received a bill from Camps International for an additional £1350 on top of the lost £350 deposit for cancelling - half the total fee for the trip for changing his mind two months in. Has anyone else experienced this?

I would also be interested to hear more about experiences with this, DD having got excited about a chance to go to Borneo.

I'm shocked by the cost. And raising the cash by fundraising? On top of GCSE work? And Duke of Edinburgh award and whatever? I don't think looking good on a CV should come into it. Children shouldn't have to worry about their CVs. Is it the norm for families to top up these costs when the children don't fundraise enough? I'm in no position to top up and I definitely don't want to have to ask other family members.

Bumping this thread, as have just had the same 'sales pitch' as described by PJW22 for Tanzania in 2015.

I would greatly appreciate hearing of any experiences with this company, be they good, bad or indifferent.

Our babysitter went on something similar in the summer. She managed to raise all of the money herself through things like babysitting, Saturday job in cafe, organising events such as barn dances and jumble sales etc. she had a fabulous time on her trip.

Our Daughter (14) came home with a letter from school & told us all about this trip to Cambodia she wanted to go on in 2015, & how it would be a once in a lifetime experience !
We attended a meeting about the trip last night at her School...and we really do have some serious concerns about it.
First & foremost the cost of this trip is over £3,500.00 for 4 weeks !
The Idea is that the Students dedicate a lot of time & effort in to fundraising & getting sponsorship for this trip ? BUT...a deposit of either £200 or almost £350.00 (depending on which method of payment you choose) has to be paid next week, and if you opt for the monthly Direct Debit payment option payments of over £200.00 are taken every month - Starting next month !
If you get part way through paying for the trip & your Daughter/Son decide they don't won't to go or can't go...you get absolutely nothing back !
The person giving the talk about Camps International & the trip was very well briefed with what was basically a sales pitch.
They put a chart up on the screen that showed where all the money went, and she seemed to really emphasis the point that only 2.5% was profit. Well, with just one group of 20 students paying approx £75,000.00...Camps International are making at least £1,800.00 profit from just that one group !
And I suspect they will also be getting heavily discounted flights etc...so you can rest assured that they are probably making money on the flights as well.
You then get on to issues like the work the students have to do, anything from painting school class rooms & planting seeds...to helping with the installation of wells and clean water supplies ?
Sorry, but this is the responsibility of the countries own Government...sending bus loads of School children from this country to "sort out their problems" is not the answer and is akin to putting a little sticky plaster on a gaping wound.
And probably more importantly than any of the above, I'm afraid that, in our opinion at least, The next 18 months are the most important time in a students education & they will have enough on their plate completing course work etc in the run up to their GCSE's in 2015, without having the added pressure of attempting to raise over three & a half grand to go on this trip !
And lastly, we are certainly not very comfortable with the idea of asking people for money... just to enable our child to go on what is, in effect, a very expensive month long working holiday !

My DS is currently fundraising for Camp Int trip to Borneo in 2014. He has done two car boot sales and is planning an overnight 30 mile sponsored walk plus a few car-washes and cake sales with his mates. TBH the amount he is likely to raise will fall way short of the cost but he feels he is making an effort and I feel he is learning some new life skills along the way.

I understand from friends whose children have done Camp Int previously, it gave their children quite a lot to put on UCAS forms and seemed to be looked on favourably by Universities, particularly if studying International Relations, Geography or Environmental Sciences.

Well Camp Int do seem to run permanent projects, do necessary things and employ local people. I think the benefits of the school trips are pretty much one way. Our kids get to see and work with a different culture, with elephants and mountains thrown in!

What annoys me is it's all 'the kids fund raise their money' but parents has to do a direct debit so if DD hasn't raised her £280 one month I have to find the shortfall or she is off the trip and no refund!

Would love to hear from parents who've been through this one way or the other.

Oh, this is rather old! Any news?

I'm in same position as you - DD16 really wants to go. Also Summer 2014. It all looks impressive but...

They want paying by monthly direct debit, with monthly payments of about £280 IIRC. Not to mention £200 deposit next week!

It's all well and good, but if DD doesn't raise £280 every month (quite a tall order) who has to find the money? And if we don't raise enough she can't go, no money back. OK if that's funds donated as it mostly gets used for charitable purposes, but if I've had to scrape around, borrow off family etc, then it's gone.

Do they get booted off as soon as you miss a payment??

So please - anyone's DC managed to raise the money? I'm in the awkward position of not having been paid this month, looks like employer in serious shit, so finances are not good at all! I don't want to commit to this at such a difficult time.