We are certainly not the first to take to playing with flipflops collected from the beach but we are certainly very proud to have jumped on the bandwagon having discovered that’s it not only a lot of fun but actually, if we get this right, then there might even be a source of income for many. A year ago, we gave it a go and out came Papa Shillingi – our life size whaleshark made from over 5000 flipflops collected from Diani’s beaches.

But the story of lifesize models made from flipflops began quite a few years before, when Mfalme, the Minke Whale was conceived – 15,000 flipflops picked by school children from the beaches along the Kenyan coastline. And Mfalme was the creation of a bunch of minds that saw the potential of what a company called Uniqueco was doing already with flipflops. And guess where they got their idea from – watching children make little boats from old flipflops. Today, uniqueco and others are well established small businesses that have taught us all what a little bit of creativity can do.

Recycle ideas + recycle trash= safer oceans for the inhabitants + clean beaches

And this is how the story continues.

Once upon a time…

And there were so many sizes, shapes and colours…

She said, “What big flippers you have!”

And then she said, “What a great pair of hands you have!”

And they all said, “look what else these magic flipflops can do…”

And news quickly traveled across the WORLD WIDE WEB…

And she said,

“I’ll take as many as they can make…”

And since we are getting a handle of what recycling is all about, we thought why not? Chaps like Fadhili and Ben can make a little extra income, maybe it can grow and a few more people can make some income and we can recycle a little extra cash into our projects! PERFECT. We do like this recycling business…

So if you would like to recycle some trash into a little extra cash and recycle a bit of profit into a project…well, then you know where to go…

It’s a new dawn for Kenya – We salute you…

With interim payments approaching we thought we’d give you yet another incentive to help you stay focused, save hard, reach your fundraising goal and ultimately get to go on your trip of a lifetime!

We really want you to make it and get to experience everything Kenya, Tanzania and Borneo have to offer.

To prove how much we want you to make it, everyone who gets their payment to us on time will be entered in to our prize draw with the chance to win the following:

3 x 1st Prize – ipod shuffle

5 x 2nd Prizes – Mountain Kit bag

5 x 3rd Prizes – Adventure First Aid Kit

30 x Runner Up Prizes – A head torch

If you are lucky enough to be a winner, we will contact you after the draw has taken place in October.

Thank you to everyone who has already made their interim payment and well done for getting this far!

Best of luck with your fundraising efforts this summer, and we look forward to seeing you all again soon.

If you have any problems or questions at all please remember you can contact us on 0844 8001127 or give us a shout on fundraising@campsinternational.com, we’re here to help!

Whilst out in Borneo we had an idea to give out some disposable cameras to a group of local children in Bongkud.

The idea was for them to give us an insight into their daily lives by taking pictures of their friends, family, pets, school and their village. Hopefully giving us a chance to see a true side of what life is like as a young child of Bongkud. A side that we would otherwise rarely get to see.

Eight children from the local school were given the cameras and all but one camera was returned, once developed the plan had worked and we were presented with a great selection of fun photos.
Have a look at some of the best photos put together in this slideshow.

For more information on how to get involved in our volunteer gap programmes in Borneo, Malaysia click here.

To request a free brochure & DVD click over….here.

So the big day’s arrived. Results are in and hopefully you’re all celebrating! If you are then congratulations!

If not then don’t panic, we can help!

If you’re considering taking a gap year and re-applying to university next year then we’ve got the perfect gap year programmes for you.

Volunteer on one of our 1-3 month gap year programmes in Africa or Asia and you can earn 70 UCAS points, the equivalent of an A grade at AS level! Meaning you can have a once in a lifetime gap year experience then re-apply in a much stronger position next year! Who’s laughing now?

To find out more about the different programmes you could take part in and how you get your 70 UCAS points then you can talk to our gap year expert Sammy on Facebook Chat all day today (Thursday 19^th) and tomorrow (Friday 20^th).

To speak to Sammy, ‘Like’ our Facebook page, then add Sammy CI to your friends.  She’ll accept you straight away and then you can chat away for as long as you like, discussing all your options!

Sammy is lovely and it’s much less embarrassing than talking on the phone.  You’ve probably had enough of helplines.

You can also request a free brochure and DVD here.

P.S. If you haven’t had enough of help lines you can call us on: 0844 8001127

With A-level results day looming large, a quick Google search is enough to scare any student witless.

‘Record numbers of University applicants’, ‘200,000 students set to miss out’, ‘University Clearing places slashed in half’,  ‘The worlds about to end’.  OK we made the last one up but you get the picture.

We’ve dug deep and found two positive reports today:

The BBC today reported; ‘Improved A-Level Results Expected’ – You guys are the brightest students ever so that’s something to be proud of and settle those pre-result nerves a little.  Fair enough, it’s maybe not such great news if you aren’t expecting the best results.

However Dr Wendy Piatt, Director General of the Russell Group of leading universities told the BBC that universities strived to look at the whole candidate, not just their grades.

If you do just miss out on your university of choice don’t panic, you have loads of alternative options, it’s definitely not the end of the world.

The London Metro have today reported graduates are happier and £1,000 a year richer if they take a gap year before university.

So missing out on your preferred grades could be a blessing in disguise. It could be the perfect excuse for you to take a gap year, do some travelling, volunteer abroad, have a great time, enhance your CV and ultimately end up happier and £1,000 per year better off.

If that’s not enough good news for today then we’ve got even more…

If you volunteer on one of our 1-3 month gap programmes in Africa or Asia then you can now earn 70 UCAS points!  Yep 70 UCAS points, the equivalent of an A grade at AS Level. They said you lot were bright.

Meaning you could enjoy a great gap year then re-apply to university next year with 70 extra UCAS points a wealth of unique life skills (remember universities look at the whole candidate) and a whole bunch of great memories.

So if you don’t quite get the A-Level results you want tomorrow then don’t worry, give us a shout and we’ll spread the happiness!

P.S. Even if you do, you could always defer.

To request a free brochure and DVD on our award-winning volunteer gap year projects click here.

I have blogged previously about cheap flights with Air Asia into Kuala Lumpur from UK and they are at it again – so anyone about to come on a Gap trip or pondering whether to do it but worried about price of flights, please go check out Air Asia – sale on for only next few days and be aware flexibility is limited if want to change ticket – but there are some pretty good deals to be had on here – happy hunting!!

Continuing the spot the difference theme… ( see here: 1, 2, 3, 4)

Stallone – Over the top

I left Frankfurt on Tuesday for the first of 8 flights in 8 days on a mission to see as many of our Asia Team and volunteers as possible, check out our new plot of land in Cambodia, our new camp in Borneo and sneak in a temple or two.  Sleep has taken a back seat but its been brilliant.

37 years to build - apparently

Cambodia is truly epic and feels to great to be at the start of a journey that we will commit to for the long term.

Amazing temple next door to our new camp

Our land is connected to an orphanage and we have allocated several of our 7 acres to farming to provide food for the kids.  Amazing spot for perma-culture, teaching, reforestation, fuel efficient stoves, cultural immersion and the people are wonderful.

The land we will allocate for food for the orphanage

Having said the people are wonderful I do need to draw your attention to a few dubious local practices.  This guy took one hour showing us around the temple next to camp and we decided to arm wrestle for the extra dollar tip.  You can clearly see in this picture that he is using TWO HANDS!  I lost after an appeal and press up competition.

Clearly didn't realise he is meant to let the boss win!

I reckon I can sleep pretty much anywhere…..this guy wins.

Pillows are for wimps

Do you have some great photos from your Camps International adventures? If so we want to hear from YOU!!!

Whether you’re a budding photographer or just like taking a snap or two on holiday, all CI travelers are welcome to enter and anybody could win!

Entering couldn’t be simpler! To be in with a chance of winning this fantastic digital camera all you have to do is send us your favourite and most inspiring pictures!

There are five categories you can enter. The winner of each category will win a Digital PhotoFrame to view, share and re-live all your memories over and over again and the best photo from all five winners will win the brilliant Canon Powershot A1100 IS worth over £200! As well as having your photo published on our website! (Prize details below).

Sounds too easy right? That’s because it is! So what are you waiting for? Grab your old camera and send, send, send! Soon you might have a new one! We can’t wait to see your pictures!

We’re nice here at Camps so just to make things even easier and give you an even better chance of winning we’ve decided you can enter as many of the following categories as you like, as many times as you like!

No excuses left, get sending!!!

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