Quest
Quest Overseas receive regular press attention. Recently we have been featured in the The Observer on Sunday (as the pick of the week), The Western Daily Press, The Metro and Insight City News. Mike Lamb (our former Research and Education Manager) talked about our volunteer projects on the UK Living channel and also Colourful Radio. Beth Chapman (Africa Operations Manager) has been interviewed on Heart FM, Three Counties Radio, Radio Devon and Radio Kent. Michael Amphlet (QUEST Founder) has also been interviewed on Southern Counties Radio, BBC Radio Five (Jun 07) and Bright FM (Aug 07). Most recently we've been written about in the Sunday Times and The Guardian.
Quest Overseas is a recognised leader in Overseas Grassroots Development and Responsible Adventure Travel. For interviews and/or comment please call us on 01444 474744.
View our most recent press release.
Check out QUEST in the following articles:
Guardian - Aug 07 - Can you recommend any gap year companies?
The Sunday Times - Minding the gap
Mail on Sunday - Peace of mind in the Rainforest
The Telegraph - Holidays that save the world
The Independent - Help save the planet with a conservation gap year
Eco answers: Can you recommend any gap year companies?
Saturday August 18 2007
The best companies offer genuine environmental and developmental benefits to the world, rather than a glorified holiday in the sun. People and Places works with local partners in Pakistan, Madagascar and South Africa, and Quest Overseas has worked on 14 projects across Africa and South America over the past 10 years (questoverseas.com). Both have policies for "responsible volunteering".
Minding the gap
More and more parents are joining their children for gap year adventures – a great bonding experience. . . or overprotective adults spoiling the fun
July 1, 2007
It’s supposed to be a time to stand on your own two feet and see the world: whether working on game reserves in Kenya, bun-gee jumping in Bolivia, or swimming with sharks in Oz. Not to mention getting drunk nearly everywhere. But increasingly the gap year is being hijacked by anxious parents desperate to make sure their teenage offspring are safe. Other parents tagging along don’t want to miss out on the buzz of an exotic holiday or simply want to see for themselves where their children have been. Tom Griffiths, founder of gapyear.com, the largest online gap year organisation, reveals: “More and more parents are joining their children on their gap years. There are a few worried mums who have seized the chance to go out and visit their children, feed them up and check they have enough money in their pockets. “And there are other parents joining their children in South America or wherever and then being inspired to see the world for themselves.” You’d think it would be the last thing teenag-ers set loose on the adventure of their lives would tolerate: a mother or father dogging their global footprints: but Sam Fitch insists that he regrets nothing about the decision to share five months of his gap year cycling across Chile with father Jeremy when his original teenage companions dropped out. “I think a few people thought it was pretty strange but it was the first time my dad had had the chance to have a gap year,” says Sam, 24, now a photographer in Falmouth. “He never did a gap year himself at 19. There were hard times and easy times on the trip but it went more smoothly than we expected. He would get the porridge going in the morning and I would get up in my own time.” The pair clocked up between 20 and 50 miles a day and his 50-year-old father waxes lyrical about the experience. “It was a privilege,” says Jeremy. “Although I can see the downside: kids might think parents were checking up on how they were behaving.” Inevitably it’s more common for parents to visit gapper daughters than sons. Caitlin Meek O’Connor, 23, was delighted when her father came out to see her in Ghana during a gap year. “It was lovely because I got to stay in a hotel with him. I’d been travelling around in a van squashed up with a load of people; suddenly I was in a comfy taxi with my dad. It was really luxurious compared to how I had been living.” And no, she adds, “it didn’t feel like an intrusion”. And nor did it inhibit the development of her sense of independence and derring-do. Some companies are already cashing in on the “mum came too” trend. Quest Overseas organises parental visits to some of the voluntary overseas projects that now form part of many gap year experiences. “Parents can go out and see what their children are doing. It is really hard for them when their child is away,” explains Beth Chapman, who works for Quest. Chapman admits that her mother Pauline came out to visit her on a game reserve in South Africa. “I was feeling a bit down. She is the one person in my family who understands what it was like being out there,” says Chapman. And although Claire Gunn’s gap year out in Africa gave her mother Rosemary a few hairy moments – especially when she was struck down with a “nasty fever” – at least her mother managed to see what Claire had been up to. Rosemary, a former travel agent, was in New Zealand when the “tearful e-mail” arrived from her sick daughter. “She was in a lot of pain at the time but she survived,” says Rosemary. Later, after her daughter had left Swaziland, Rosemary joined one of Quest’s parent tours and visited the country’s game parks where Claire, 21, had worked on conservation projects for three months before travelling through Africa. “A lot of parents worry to death about what their little darlings are doing when they go on a gap year,” says Rosemary, who adds firmly that she isn’t one of them. However, she did have to get involved when her son did his year out in Zambia. He had pitched up in a school where he was supposed to be working only to find nothing scheduled for him. “I got hold of the company and at his request jollied them up,” says his mother. Claire, who worked for seven months in a pub and a bakery to raise the £3,000 plus for her trip, insists that her mother’s stay in Africa didn’t detract from her own experience. “She stayed in hotels and did it the five-star way. I did it the backpackers way, camping and roughing it. It was still my experience,” she says. “I have been at boarding school since I was eight . . . I am very independent.” Emily Monk, 20, a first year student at Trinity College, Dublin, blames the rise of the internet and e-mail for parental involvement in their youngsters’ gap years. On her own year out last summer Monk was astonished when, with the indefatigable determination of a worried parent, her mother tracked her down to a hostel in Thailand. Her daughter had e-mailed friends about abscesses on her feet caused by stumbling over glass. “I couldn’t really walk and was getting through it by dancing and drinking or whatever,” says Monk. “Mum had heard a story about a girl who had died after exactly the same thing happened to her and so she was absolutely frantic. “One morning I got a call from my hostel. Mum had phoned a friend of a friend of a friend and found me. I was like, ‘How on earth did you know where I was, Mum?’ She was like, ‘Emily I have phoned you 17 times.’” Monk has collected e-mails from gappers into a book whose title says it all: Don’t Tell Mum: Hair-raising Messages Home from Gapyear Travellers. She thinks it’s vital to resist too much interference. “My mum really tried to get involved but I was like, ‘Come on, Mum, this is my year away’. I don’t think I would have wanted my mum and dad to visit,” she asserts. “Honestly, you don’t want your parents to see what you are getting up to.”
Minding the gap
Holidays that save the world
In response to increasing concern about the environmental state of the planet many tourists are opting for holidays that give a little back, writes Guy Hobbs
QUEST
Telephone. 01444 474744
Email emailus@questoverseas.com
Website www.questoverseas.com
Duration Min. 2 to 4 weeks (projects), 2 to 3 weeks (escapes)
Location Southern Africa, East Africa, Andean South America and Brazil
Season Year round
Prerequisites Min. age 18. Average age is 21. No qualifications needed, just enthusiasm
Organisation Expedition specialists with projects and adventure travel to suit all ages in South America and Africa
Description Quest Overseas places over 300 participants each year on holidays with a difference. Quest's projects involve voluntary work on conservation and community projects for a minimum of 2 or 4 weeks. Current conservation projects include the Malawi Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre Project, the Chile Conservation Project, the Brazil Coastal Rainforest Project and the Bolivia Animal Sanctuary Project. Marine conservation projects include the Honduras Turtle and Marine Conservation Project. Alternatively, participants can enjoy an 'Escape' which combines a traditional holiday with a chance to spend one or two weeks working on a project, ideal for those who want to combine travel with volunteering but only have a few weeks to spare.
Accommodation Included in price. Varies depending on project, from youth hostels and small hotels, to tents and hammocks in the jungle
Cost £1,800-£4,920 (South America) and £1,390-£4,240 (Africa)
A POSTCARD FROM… MOZAMBIQUE
Thoger Krogh, a 31-year-old doctor, took part in the Quest Underseas Whale Shark and Manta Ray Preservation Project:
I was particularly attracted to the idea of an expedition because I have always found that working while on vacation gives me a much more intense and enjoyable experience. This project in particular suited me down to the ground, because I have trained as a diving instructor in the past, so I knew I had the skills to really make a difference. Also, as a doctor in the middle of my career and training to be a specialist, an expedition was perfect - nine days was all the time I could get off work.
On a normal working day on the project, we would start at 7am and finish at 3pm. During the day there were two investigative dives, plus a class where we were taught all about the ecological issues involved, and a debriefing. In the afternoons we collated and input the data. It was a really satisfying feeling when we came across the species that we were monitoring, and being within sight of whale sharks was an awe-inspiring experience.
The project was also made special by the other volunteers. We were all able to work together well and we had become good friends by the end. We were staying in excellent accommodation - a forest lodge, and we all mucked in and prepared food together. Spending time working and then relaxing at the end of the day with the other volunteers turned out to be a highlight of the expedition.
The best participants are those who are willing to make the project work even when they encounter problems, and those who are able to do it with a smile. My advice to those planning to undertake such a project would be to be open-minded and to expect the unexpected. For me, the preservation project really was an adventure, and I was doing something I love far away from home and the pressures of work. But I also knew that some important research might come out of it.
Gap Year: It won't cost the Earth...
Help save the planet with a conservation gap year. By Kate HilpernMonday, 4 December 2006For those wishing to stay in the UK, organisations such as the National Trust, British Trust for Conservation Volunteers, RSPB and English Heritage are just a few that provide opportunities. Meanwhile, those wishing to broaden their horizons can go anywhere from Australia or Tanzania to Fiji or Cambodia. "Some of our volunteers do biological surveys in tropical rainforests, while others look at how to reduce the number of shootings of elephants in national parks," says Fanning.Such options aren't cheap, she admits. "Our prices start at £1,100 for four weeks on a land-based project, while the marine ones start at £1,400. But it's an incredible experience and you can come away with a vocational qualification in conservation."Richard Oliver, chief executive of the Year Out Group, points out that there are a growing number of specialist conservation gap year companies, including Frontier, Africa Conservation Experience, Global Vision International and Coral Cay Conservation. "But young people shouldn't rule out the more general volunteering companies, most of which have conservation options," he says."Don't go with a company just because you've heard they're good. What might be right for your mate might not be right for you."Once you've narrowed down your options, talk to someone who has recently returned from a project, suggests Oliver.The benefits of doing a conservation gap year include learning or improving a skill such as scuba diving, as well as gaining confidence and improving team working skills. According to Bex Stonebridge, 22, who took part in conservation work in Australia and Tasmania for her gap year in 2003, you get to see more remote places than if you just went backpacking. "We met people who had been travelling in the same areas and they hadn't even heard of the places we went to," she says.The variety of the conservation work she was involved in was huge - from planting trees to helping endangered baby penguins and making over school gardens and courtyards. "I only wound up doing conservation because the organisation didn't have any more places for teaching. At first I didn't fancy it, but it was incredibly worthwhile and I feel I've seen a lot more of the areas I went to than I would have if I'd been stuck in a classroom."Conservation work can be demanding, admits Georgina Leach, 19, who went to Brazil with Quest Overseas for five months. "We were replanting trees in the rainforests for some of the time, and it was very labour intensive and hot. But it was so rewarding to know what a difference you're making."Among the achievements of gappers who have gone through Quest Overseas are planting more than 7,000 trees, creating a new animal sanctuary, building six large animal enclosures and a bird hide, and spending thousands of hours caring for animals. The work won't always be glamorous, admits marketing manager Tom Setter. "One of our current projects is working on a collection of game reserves in Swaziland. The long-term goal is to have them as one big reserve and the kinds of things we've needed to do is build a chicken shed."Sarah Horner, spokeswoman for i-to-i, agrees. "You could find yourself mucking out animal cages on monkey projects, for instance." So be prepared to get stuck in to some pretty dirty jobs. "There isn't a particular type of person that suits conservation work. You just need a willingness to get involved," adds Horner.According to Holly Nicholas, 19, who went to Costa Rica with i-to-i, you also need to enjoy variety. "We spent two weeks on a beach watching out for turtles being hatched in the sanctuary and then taking them down to the water. Then we spent another two weeks in a national park, helping to build trails, a nursery for flowers and a gutter system for the roads. It was an unbelievable experience and I'd recommend it to anyone."Pristine reefsMichelle Davenport, 18, has just returned from the islands of Fiji and Dravuni, where she did coral conservation work "Because I've recently finished my A-levels and have a place at university for 2007, I decided to spend some time abroad in between. One of my A-levels was in geography and I'd become increasingly interested in coral conservation.I went to a gap year show in London and talked to various companies. I was particularly impressed with Coral Cay Conservation (www.coralcay.org) because the staff were so supportive, the website was so informative and the work looked so worthwhile. I went to one of their talks and made the decision to go with them.I was away for five weeks and particularly loved the scuba diving. I got to see sharks and turtles and one of the most pristine reefs in the world. I also enjoyed living with people from different backgrounds and values. I made some lifelong friends.
I spent the first two weeks training. You go out with a buddy who points out the species of fish and coral, and then you're ready to do some surveying. You have a reel and every half a metre, if there's a piece of coral, you write down the name, as well as the species of any fish. The idea is to gather information about what's there so that the area can be better conserved."
While the legal right of Madonna, above, to adopt an African boy may be a matter of some debate, no one is disputing that she has raised the profile of Malawi, and given a boost to the efforts of groups running charitable volunteer trips to that impoverished country.
"Madonna has attracted attention to a country that does not get in the press often, which helps them enormously," said Mike Lamb, of Quest Overseas (www.questoverseas.com), a British company that organizes four-week trips of volunteers to an orphan care center in Malawi, as well as other expeditions throughout Africa and South America. "She has made people think about food distribution, poverty and H.I.V./AIDS education, which has generated a lot of interest in our programs."
Mr. Lamb said that volunteers on his Malawi trips help on various infrastructure projects and live in a dorm-type setting on a local farm. They pay £1,465 (around $2,795, at $1.95 to the pound), excluding flights, of which £600 goes to the Joshua Orphan Care Center, which pays for a child's entire secondary school education.
"What ends up in the news, such as this Madonna story, helps bring these issues into people's consciousness and often leads them to volunteer," said Amy Bannon, a placement officer for Volunteers for Peace, a nonprofit group in Vermont (802-259-2759, www.vfp.org).
Her organization offers more than 3,000 short-term voluntary service projects in over 100 countries - 10 a year in Malawi. Volunteers on the next three trips, in November, January and March, will be expected to spend two to three weeks living in a village and working on community projects like creating a soccer field or installing a floor in a youth center. Placements cost $250, excluding flights, as well as a $250 contribution on arrival.
A recent article in London's Metro highlighted that 'in a rapidly growing industry, not all companies have the recipient countries or the volunteers best interests at heart'.
The article demonstrates Quest Overseas commitment to conservation by building long-term partnerships with projects abroad and features our Bolivia Animal Sanctuary Project.
A recent feature demonstrating our commitment to fighting drought in East Africa
