World Challenge and my trip

[mattmacman]

Hey guys as some of you may know im only 15 and got to Shenton College in Perth, midway last year we were shown a slideshow and a presentation about a program called world challenge. Anyway i joined and am about to embark on a trip to India for a month towards the end of november. The trip will include two main treks, a community project (probably painting a school at this stage) and R & R. For the trip i have to raise $6500 for the trip, pay for visas, inoculations and gear. I was posting this in hope of donations of money, children's stuff or hiking gear for my team and our community project which Nuts has already done (cheers for the pack =). More info on world challenge here, http://www.worldchallenge.com.au/ . Cheers.

[tryggvirafn]

Good luck. I am sorry I cant be of much help to you but I hope it will go well for you.

[Mark F]

Good luck with your trip, I am sure you will have a great time. It seems quite an expensive trip (a $1,000 per week after the airfare) and ultimately why should we fund your recreation. Why does your "team", whoever they are, need hiking gear? Without more detail on your "community project" how do we know it is worthwhile.

Sorry to come across as a bit of a curmudgeon but I see these appeals on so many forums, particularly British ones, where everybody is meant to fund other people's holidays in the name of charity.

[Nuts]

I'd agree someone is making a good profit (and there are companies that seem less commercially driven). It doesn't really seem 'charity' driven to me? It also doesn't seem well explained (on the site at least), will some profit pay for the paint?

Matt hasn't exactly been pushy though and iirc he is the first to ask for help here. I'm sure it will be a positive learning experience whatever the programme.

[doogs]

Hey Matt, my father used to run water projects in remote Karen villages in the north of Thailand. He did this with 16-18 year olds from the school he taught at and other linked scools throughout the world. Each person had to raise the money for the trip themselves, as you do, generally they did so through sponsorship of silly stunts. One of the more popular ideas was swimming the length of a local lake (north of Scotland remember), which was more like a bog snorkel, and they would get students, teachers, family etc. to sponsor them to do so. If you want the cash for a trip like this be prepared to embarass yourself, do something stupid (not dangerous) and get people basically to pay to laugh or watch you. Hope this helps

[Aushiker]

Hi

I saw the group heading out of Perth on Friday. They where flying to Singapore on Singapore Airlines. I did wonder what the World Challenge t-shirts where all about... Given the price work paid for my airfare they would have got a good deal at least to Singapore on the airfares. There was another group on that flight as well.

Andrew

[rogo]

Andrew, Kids from my school left 6/ 7 days ago as well, for northern Thailand and Laos. It is such a great adventure for young adults. The blog I have read is full of adventures. I did put my hand up to go a an adult supervisor but missed out this year. Oh well maybe in a couple of years. This our first year so it is being used as a test. The kids were from around your area as well. Matt comes from my area.

Also I don't think Matt was asking for monetary donations to fund his trip. The kids are supposed to raise the funds themselves however, but also the kids have some money set aside to help the areas in which they stay. So in the case of my school, Churchlands, kids are helping build a new schoolroom in the village they are staying in. And they are paying for the materials to build it- well partial cost. But also they are providing pencils and books etc for the school. OK Nuts provided some gear to Matt but I think this is not the norm to ask for gear, but we are a hiking site, so why not.

World Challenge is a great thing for kids and also there is a component of hiking in each trip which maybe will lead some kids into a lifelong habit of good health and adventure. Not all bad in my books.

Ro