Posts Tagged gap year

Two Generations Take Part In Fundraising Bike Ride

Last week marked the end of one mans epic journey from John O’Groats to Lands End. Jonathan Hyde and his Dad travelled 918 miles by bike in an effort to raise £1,000 for Lattitude Global Volunteering and help Jonathan to reach his goal of volunteering in South Africa.

Jonathan, who has just left Farnborough Sixth Form College, decided to take a gap year after hearing about Lattitude’s volunteering opportunities from his sister’s boyfriend. As a youth development charity, Lattitude specialises in providing unique experiences of voluntary work placements for young people from around the world.

Asked about his desire to volunteer abroad, Jonathan said: “I want to experience living in a different country and doing something different from my usual day to day life. Latitude was recommended to me, and the outdoor activity placement offered in South Africa sounded right up my street. I couldn’t think of a better way to volunteer!”

Jonathan’s inspiration for his fundraising bike ride came from his Dad: “When I was younger I used to go on bike rides with my Dad and he would tell me the stories of all the rides he has done. When he was telling me about when he rode John o’Groats to Lands End when he was my age I said to him that when I was 18 and finished at college that I wanted to do that ride with him and we never forgot!

Of course, there were challenges along the way, but these were quickly forgotten when the father and son team peddled in to Lands End on the afternoon of the 12th of September.

“I’m so pleased we’ve finished,” Jonathan continued, “It was a journey I’d been looking forward to taking for years. I’m glad I’ve managed to combine my wish to complete this bike ride with my Dad with fundraising for my placement in South Africa.

You can still sponsor Jonathan at: http://www.justgiving.com/jonathanhyde

Travel Photography Tips and Techniques

More than memories! Great photos of your experiences are a fantastic keep sake, this was taken by Charlie
in Tanzania at The Irente point (world view) in Lushoto, with local man sat looking over the flat expanse of Africa

By Roberta Geraci

When away on holiday or travelling, we all want to capture the moment by taking pictures. If a picture tells a thousand words than we all want those pictures to reflect the location, experience, event and emotions we were experiencing at that time. Travel photography is particularly important as we feel we may never get to witness the same moment again and we want to be able to show all our family and friends what we have seen. No pressure to get that shot perfect then! Below are a summary of some of the main tips and techniques for what to look out for when taking pictures while travelling.

1. The right equipment

Today digital cameras are cheap and almost ubiquitous, nearly all phones sold today have a camera built in and compact cameras can be purchased for under £100. However it is important to consider that not all cameras are made equal, and there are many different types available, suiting many price ranges. If you are someone who does not know their Aperture settings from their ISO settings, then before shelling out a fortune it would be wise to do some research into which camera would best suit you. Technology website, The Verge has an excellent article about what to look out for when buying a digital camera. Once you have your camera sorted other important things to consider are;

Tripods - great for taking night shots but not always suitable for travel.
Case – It is important to get a good case that protects the equipment and does not stand out too much.
Spare batteries – If your camera takes standard batteries then remember to pack spares. If going away for a long trip then purchase a spare rechargeable battery to keep you juiced up.
Memory Cards – Make sure to check your compatibility and purchase an extra memory card if away for a long time. Usually these are cheapest on the Internet so shop around.

2. What to shoot

The equipment is less than half the story, the most important thing about taking a good picture is the subject, be it a person, a landscape, a city or an animal. Depending on where your going, your subjects will change. According to Robert Caputo from The National Geographic, the best tips to help you choose your subject are:

Understanding the customs and traditions of the place you are visiting
“Getting out there” and experiencing the location and customs before taking the pictures that capture those experiences
“Getting Lost” and experiencing things off the beaten track or away from the heavily tourist areas will give you more unique pictures.

Remember when taking pictures of other people, especially children, it is important to ask for their or their parent’s permission.

3. How to Frame your shot

Framing your shot correctly is the difference between a good picture and a great one.

Traditionally when taking pictures “the rule of thirds” is a good place to start. According to Bryan F Peterson the rule of thirds is a guideline which “proposes that an image should be imagined as divided into nine equal parts by two equally-spaced horizontal lines and two equally-spaced vertical lines, and that important compositional elements should be placed along these lines or their intersections.”

The below image demonstrates this as the position of the tree and the horizon lie along the intersections of two-thirds lines.

travel photography, hints & tips from Lattitude Global Volunteering

While the rule is a good place to start some of the best pictures are those that defy convention. Try taking multiple shots of the same subject from different angles, either up high or down low, to convey different emotions. Don’t be afraid to zoom in on certain details or take wide-angle shots to capture a bigger picture.

Remember the convenience of a digital camera means you can take as many pictures as you want, you can always delete some of the less successful ones later.

We love seeing travel pictures by our volunteers so please share them on our Facebook page and why not enter our photo competition. Happy Snapping!

Sources:

http://www.theverge.com/2012/1/2/2663464/camera-buyers-guide

http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-tips/travel-photography-tips/

Bryan F. Peterson - Learning to see creatively: design, color & composition in photography

How to travel light on your gap year

We have all been there the night before an exciting trip, packing and repacking the suitcase, trying to decide between 4 pairs of shoes for a weekend away and coming to the conclusion that you need all 4. Well imagine packing for a long term placement abroad between 3-12 months and it may seem impossible. The following tips should help ease the process.

1. The most important tip is to pack for the environment you are visiting and to take practical clothing. T-shirts and shorts might seem like a good idea but not if you are going to the arctic circle!

2. Bring a Swimming costume. Even if you are not heading to a hot location, with a costume you will be able to shower anywhere.

3. A pair of Flipflops are great for the hottest days, for walking around hostels and showering in some of the less desirable places. They are light and buoyant useful if travelling anywhere by boat!

4. Take your medicine and a prescription. You will need a doctors prescriptions for any medicines when crossing borders and going through customs. If you loose your medicine than a prescription will help foreign doctors determine what to give you. Pack enough reserves to last your trip and try to remember the names of the drug you are taking just in case.

5. Whatever you forgot you will most likely be able to buy there. Buying clothes locally will make you look more like a local and are probably more appropriate for the climate and environment where you are staying. Electricals are generally cheaper elsewhere and if you buy them at airports you may qualify for duty free prices. Don’t forget that if using UK equipment such as mobile phone recharges you will most likely need an adaptor, these can be bought at airports. Remember to check the voltage of any electrical equipment and the voltage of the country where you are going. For example travel hairdryers often have two voltage setting. Generally it may be cheaper to get hairdryers on location or if staying in a hostel it might be provided or you could always try to borrow your room mate’s one!

6. A good rucksack is an essential purchase before leaving as it gives you added flexibility and comfort. Some of the larger packs have detachable day packs which can be a great way to travel within your destination. When taking luggage or rucksacks, remember whatever you bring you will need to carry yourself so try not to make it too heavy.

7. A light and foldable rainmac is an essential item in even the hottest of locations.

8. Sunglasses and sunscreen are neccessary when travelling to hotter destinations. Make sure to get a higher Spf number sunscreen if staying in the sun for long periods of time.

9. A Collapsable water bottle and water tablets are good purchases if your unsure of the quality of water abroad.

10. Comfortable, water proof shoes are far more practical than Jimmy Choo’s and important when travelling long distances.

11. Clothing:For guys a blue long sleeve shirt can double up for a casual look during the day, with the sleeves rolled up and smart at night. You will probably look less like a tourist too, as this is popular around the world.

12. Beware of scams over the internet. A good idea is to set up a password or a secret word that only your family or friends know so if you email them asking for money they will know it is you and not an hacker. Remember when travelling across borders there are limits on the amount of Cash you carry. It is also useful to take two types of money eg. Cash and card or travellers cheques etc.

13. Learn few important numbers by heart, eg your embassy and keep them written down in a safe place for example in the inside of your shoes! Don’t forget when abroad the dialling code for the country you wish to call, for example +44 is the UK dialling code.

5 Quick and Easy English Games for the Volunteer Abroad

Will Peach is one of the site editors over at Gap Daemon, the gap year travel website for backpackers and young travelers. You can also catch him writing on My Spanish Adventure about his travels in Spain where he works as a private English tutor.

So you’ve rocked up abroad and you’re about to start your new teaching placement. Nervous yet? It’s only natural. But before you start quaking in your boots and worrying about how you’re going to fill your time in front of class, take a moment to breathe and grab yourself a warm cup of coffee. I’m about to soothe your pain.

Quick and easy “teach English” games are a staple in the life of the volunteer abroad. As any teacher will tell you, having these in your arsenal is a failsafe akin to travelling the world on the riches of Bill Gates. The best thing about these however? You don’t need a classroom or much time to prepare. They really are simple enough to take with you and use anywhere at anytime.

Ready? Let’s get cracking.

Bonk

The rather rude sounding “bonk” is actually rather innocent in nature. This game involves getting all your “students” to stand in a circle and then you start off by shouting out a category they will know vocabulary from (works well with beginners and things like animals, sports and months - with higher levels use things like adverbs for example). Each student shouts a word related to the category out in a clockwise motion starting from the student on your left. If a word is repeated or a student hesitates you “bonk” them on the head with a soft object and they sit out the game. The last one standing wins.

Listen Closely

“Listen Closely” is one of my favourite teach English games because it allows you to really get to know the personalities of your students. It works by dividing the students into teams (pairs or threes works best) and giving them each a name. You then say a sentence that is either correct or incorrect using the vocabulary they know. For beginners try: “Will is wearing a skirt and blue socks” and for higher levels say something like “Will studied in the University of Sussex”. Each team has to then say whether the sentence is correct or not and if not they have to give their correction. Switch around the team that goes first to make it fairer.

Draw What You Hear

This game involves having something to draw on and works best if you have students running (or walking) from a distance. “Draw What You Hear” is a great game to gauge the language level of your students and to revise things they might have just learnt. It involves separating a class into two teams and then having them run to some paper or a board and drawing what you describe. The fastest team to draw the correct thing gets two points, if the opposing team draws the correct thing you also award them a point. This is especially great for describing things like people (body parts/clothes) and landscapes (natural/buildings).

Would I Lie To You

How many times have I used this one? I can’t even remember! “Would I Lie to You” is based on the BBC panel show featuring Rob Brydon and is an incredibly useful game for introducing yourself to a new group of students in order to “break the ice”. Playing it is easy. List five things about you, three sentences must be true and two should be lies. Make these sentences relatively easy to understand if it’s your first time with a class and be willing to repeat them several times until understood. Once finished get the students to place bets on the ones they deem true and the others they feel are false. Once finished and the correct answers are revealed switch the game around and get your students to do the same for each of themselves and play as a class.

Hot Seat

This last game I’m recommending I’ve taken with me to places like Russia, Vietnam - and now Spain - and still students seem to love it. Setting up is quite easy; all you need is a more than four students and a bit of space for two of them to sit with their back to you. You’ll need to choose words or phrases they’ve previously studied and have them written out or whispered so that the students facing you can understand them. Then these students have to mime or explain the word or phrase (without saying the word itself) so that the students with their backs to you can guess. The first correct guess wins.

And that’s it! It’s pretty safe to say that these five games became the lifeblood of my English classes abroad and it’s entirely possible, of course, to interpret them in a way fit for your own circumstances. Just make sure you get some serious teaching in their somewhere!

Good luck and safe volunteering.

Make a job application stand out, add volunteering overseas to your list of achievements

Volunteering could make you stand out from everyone else!

In a recent survey 63% of 250 HR professionals agreed that a constructive gap year spent volunteering or gaining work experience was one way to make a an application really stand out.

It is well known that embarking on a voluntary placement is a sure way to gain skills and build confidence in young people. It is a process we, as an international youth development charity take very seriously. We ensure all our placements are long enough and that each volunteer is placed in an environment that will challenge and interest them and so build skills and confidence.

If the extra pressure the rise in university tuition fees has caused you to take an unexpected year out then the survey carried out by YouGov suggests a working productive gap year could be beneficial.

Almost half (46%) of HR professionals surveyed said they would be more likely to employ someone with gap year experience involving volunteering overseas, or other independent travel than one without.

Tom Griffiths, Founder of gapyear.com, said: “It’s never been more important for young people to make the most of their time between school and career. This survey shows that a constructive gap year involving independent travel, volunteering or work overseas makes a big difference to potential employers.

It’s understandable that anyone with a university place this year won’t want to defer, but, for the many thousands without that option, a constructive gap year has to be one of the best alternatives.

To ensure that our volunteers have the opportunity to discuss their placements and know how to demonstrate the skills they have learned we offer a returned volunteer debrief. We are fortunate enough to be sponsored by Grant Thornton, a large graduate recruiter who not only let us hold our debrief in their central London office but also help us run seminars that offer the latest advice on graduate recruitment.

Lattitude volunteer, India talks about life as a volunteer in Neuquen, Argentina

Beat the price rise!

Gap year volunteering price freeze

Are you thinking of embarking on a challenging and rewarding overseas volunteering experience some time in the future?

If you think that this is something you are going to do over the next couple of years we are offering you the chance to apply now and beat future price rises. Whether you are planning on departing in 2012, 2013 or even 2014: by applying now you effectively freeze the Lattitude Global Volunteering fee at the 2011 price. Better still you won’t actually have to pay the full fee until 2-3 months prior to departure!*

As a charity we always keep the costs as low as possible, simply covering the costs that we incur in running our volunteering placements. But as our costs go up we have to reflect these in the fees. So if you do not want to be affected by future fee increases get your application in before the 3^rd of January 2012.

*Please note you will be asked to pay a deposit of £250 to secure your place post interview. Fee does not include the cost of getting abroad, insurance or medical costs, for full details please click here.

Lattitude Global Volunteering Launches Campaign For Real Volunteering

November 2011: Lattitude Global Volunteering will be celebrating 40 years of sending young people on meaningful, long-term placements in 2012. To mark this milestone, the charity today launches its ‘Campaign For Real Volunteering’.

Lattitude Global Volunteering has been around since the birth of the gap year industry; in fact the term ‘gap year’ came from its original name (GAP Activity Projects). The charity has become quite disheartened at how the positive concept of the gap year has now been overshadowed by the profiteering of tourism companies who have moved into the industry, so is vowing to fight back with real and meaningful overseas volunteer placements.

Nick Adie, UK marketing manager says: “Over the years many new organisations have begun offering voluntary placements overseas, from small companies to tourism giants. However, with this expansion there seems to be a drift from worthwhile and selfless volunteer placements to short term placements more concerned with what ‘fits in’ to a gap year, around travel or tourism plans.

“The dumbing down of placements and quick turnaround of volunteers is diluting the perceived benefits to the extent where gap years are quite uniformly criticised and mocked. Even more worrying is the seeming lack of responsibility towards the host communities that are supposedly benefitting from volunteer help. In many cases these short term placements can actually create a great deal more harm than good.”

The advice given by Lattitude Global Volunteering is to avoid these so called ‘voluntourism’ activities and think about the reason to volunteer in the first place. The charity states that there is nothing wrong with travelling, and many volunteers do travel after a long-term placement, but they do it with better knowledge and understanding of a different culture and people, greater confidence and better understanding.

Volunteering overseas is undoubtedly a fantastic thing. It offers young people the opportunity to experience a different life, to develop in skills and confidence and enjoy the world. All the while making a real and valid contribution to a host community. But only when it is done properly.

Lattitude Global Volunteering now has a specific area of its website dedicated solely to the campaign with hints and tips to help prospective volunteers navigate the gap year volunteering industry and help them choose an organisation that can provide a volunteering experience that is worthwhile as well as help with weighing up the costs to get the best value for your money and the chance for personal development.

For more information please see: www.lattitude.org.uk/real-volunteering

Top 10 ways to fundraise for your Voluntary placement

By Roberta Geraci

fundraising for a gap year, part of the process!

1. Organise a charity sporting event

Try organising a charity sporting event to raise money, have fun and keep fit. You could try organising a team game or set a personal challenge, like Michael Njunge, who cycled on a 400 mile journey from his home in Langley, Berkshire, to LegoLand, Windsor, taking in three other Merlin theme parks around the country including Thorpe Park, Chessington World of Adventures and Alton Towers. Michael set a target of £800 to raise, which will help him reach his goal and allow him to take up his medical placement in Japan with Lattitude Global Volunteering in March 2012.

Why not try organising a charity football, rugby or hockey match for example. You could try and make it interesting by taking on your friend’s parents, or see if your school will be happy for you to arrange a teachers Vs students match. Try and get people to donate to watch and participate.

Michael with his bike

2. Donate for your guilty pleasures

Make a box to save up money every time you do something you shouldn’t. For example if chocolate is your sin, donate a pound every time you eat some. Try and get all your family and friends involved and challenge each other. You could even donate money every time u wasted 10 minutes on Facebook instead of doing something more productive!

3. Get partying

Try arranging a party and getting people to donate to attend, for food and for drinks. Some ideas might include; a seasonal party (like Christmas, Valentine’s day party, Easter party, a New Years Eve party, a themed party (like a murder mystery night, film night), or a disco or karaoke night.

What about organizing a Come Dine with me style competition between you and your friends, or try organizing a party based on your preferred destination like Ailsa. Ailsa has held a Fiji themed party, a cake sale, a ceilidh with raffle and is even planning a James Bond evening, among other ideas. Ailsa has already raised over £1,000, and she has more events in the works!

4. Be fancy

Fancy dress can be fun all year round! Whether it is seasonal (Halloween, Christmas, Easter etc..) or just to have a laugh, get you and your friends in funny outfits and have a contest with a small prize, get around the city and get people to donate to snap a picture with you (like dressing you all like famous movies character— Star Wars, pirates, etc). Sam, who is volunteering in Japan this September with Lattitude Global Volunteering, managed to raise over £100 by dressing up as a Dalmatian!

The dalmation!

5. Challenge yourself

Run a marathon, cycle or walk miles, participate in a mountain climb or brave yourself to take on an obstacle course run (where people pay a small fee to add obstacles on your way).

David Logue, ran from his hometown of Leicester to Twickenham Rugby Stadium, to raise money towards his gap year teaching placement in Argentina. In February David and his friend, Jacob, ran over 100 miles, participating in the equivalent of four marathons! David explained “We chose to run during the February half term, as it was between our January and summer exams”. “When we saw that the England Vs France Six Nations Rugby match was taking place at Twickenham that week, we decided to run to the stadium.”

With Lattitude’s help, David secured coverage in The Leicestershire Mercury, This is Leicestershire, South Leicestershire College News and MKWeb, boosting awareness about the run and fundraising. In total David raised nearly £1,500 towards his placement and managed quite an incredible achievement.

Other inspirational examples are James, who went on a sponsored bike ride dressed as Spiderman and Sam who despite suffering with a knee injury, signed up for a half marathon, which he intends to do on crutches to raise the funds for his placement!!

Let us know if you’re planning something and we can help you raise awareness and more donations

6. Challenge others

Try organizing a quiz night or a “guess the number of” competition (for example using jelly beans, Easter eggs, keys, anything really!). Charge a small fee to participate and give a prize to the best guesses.

A good example is Mike, who with the help of his mother, Rosie, and the Hamble Valley Rotary Club, organised a quiz night to help raise money for new text books at the remote Secondary School, where Mike was volunteering, in North Tanzania.

7. Sell, Sell, Sell!!!

Why not hold a jumble sale or a Car boot sale to get rid of your old and unwanted clothes, video games, CDs, films etc. You could try setting up an eBay account or post for sale items on message boards. You could even take things a step further like Liam Taylor, by starting you own small business. Liam , who works full-time, thought of a great way to raise money for his placement in Japan. Each week Liam made Japanese sushi lunchboxes for his colleagues who all pay him to save them the time of making a healthy homemade lunch. Liam found they were becoming really popular and even introduced “Cheesecake Friday’s” to sell his homemade cheesecake for a £1 slice! Not only you will get instant revenues but it looks great on your CV too!

You can ask your friends and family to donate unwanted items too to increase your sales.

8. Odd Jobs -

Everybody hates chores, so why not offer to do it for them. You could offer to do gardening, DIY, walk your neighbour’s dogs, or babysit.

Why not ask your neighbours and offer your services in return for a donation, you could even do it in fancy dress to get noticed! It’s a great way to get to know your neighbours, raise money and improve your skills at the same time.

9. I dare you!

Here’s one for those of you with no shame! Owen Copping came up with the idea of a dare page where people would challenge him to do something in exchange for a donation. Suggestions raised so far include eating nothing but baked beans for 3 days, and offers to be a “slave” for 5 days. Owen set up a Facebook page and took offers from his friends. You could even do an auction to raise more money and have a bit more control. Like take bids on who would want to take you for a date! While we encourage you to have fun, please remember to be safe, stay legal and do not do anything you will regret for too long!

10. Show Off

Why not organise a show? It could be anything from a talent show, a fashion show, a magic show, to your own play or dance routine.

Elaine a former Lattitude volunteer organised her own Fashion show fundraiser to raise money for her placement in Ecuador. You can charge people to come watch, get people to donate to be a model for the day, you could even design your own clothes, or better yet, get people to donate to have their designs showcased. Why not talk to the Fashion students at your college and see if you can work together to hold a fundraiser. You could combine the event with other fundraising ideas such as raffles or after show parties.

Elaine held a fashion show as part of her fundraising for her overseas volunteering placement

Whatever you decide, please remember to do it safely and keep in touch so we can help raise awareness!

Should I stay or should I go?

It is so nice to read some positive articles on taking a gap year, a rarity at this time of year when gap year ‘bashing’ is so frequent in the media. It’s great to read people who have researched their topic thoroughly and take an unbiased yet informative viewpoint.

The Telegraph’s ‘Gap Year Dilemma: should I stay or should I go?’ addresses the debate of whether you should go straight university this year, due to the rise in tuition fees, or should still take a gap year. Elouisa Clegg, who has opted for a gap year, writes ‘I thought I would make the most out of university if I went there having experienced more of the world’ and has made a well informed and planned decision: ‘I made my choice well in advance, before the fee increase…the rise in fees has just made me more focussed on getting a job.’ This different approach to the daunting prospect of student debt, shows an encouraging outlook on life; that yes, money is important, but experience counts for a lot, and what you get out of it may be more valuable than you can imagine.

In contrast, Lizzie Ellis has decided to go straight to university, but her decisions have also been well thought through and her argument comes from a balanced and informed decision: ‘I could no longer justify spending such a vast amount on education that I could get for a third of the price, simply by applying this year.’ This is, of course, a very valid reason to go straight to university this year and Lizzie has also considered that ‘there are certain advantages to going straight from school in that I will have a stronger work ethic and I won’t be in danger of having such a fantastic time on my gap year that university pales by comparison.’ However, unlike some one-sided and close-minded people, Lizzie credibly is able to appreciate some of the things she may be missing out on: ‘I do think you get a certain experience of the world from travelling, and I’d probably have started university more confident, well-read and independent after a year working and travelling.’

For some, not taking a gap year may be a hard decision, swayed this year but the cost of the rise in tuition fees, but those who feel a twinge of regret that they have decided to go straight to university need not worry that they are ‘missing out on an opportunity which might not come along again’. There is still the opportunity to take a gap year after university, Lattitude Global Volunteering offers volunteering placements for 17 – 25 year olds, so there is plenty of chance to still experience what you may have foregone this year.