Ex Challenger returns to project site to continue charitable work!

In 2010 The Wheatley Park School undertook an expedition to Nicaragua and completed a project within the rural communities surrounding Granada, successfully helping with the renovation of one of the local schools. The team undertook their project work alongside the charity ‘La Esperanza’ translated as ‘The hope’ in English. The team’s efforts had such an impact that one challenger has just returned for a three month placement to continue working directly for La Esperanza.

Just another reason why Latin America offers some of the best projects within the World Challenge portfolio….

The project is run by a group of volunteers. 'Born’ in 2002, they started helping in one small village on the outskirts of Granada, and now help in seven - from building new classrooms, to paying a local nurse to visit the schools, to making copies of exams for the children and helping women start handicraft groups. The work is funded solely through donations and 100% of the money goes towards the project. At each school the funds pay for at least one teaching assistant or "Ayudante" - a local student who helps out co-ordinating foreign volunteers and teaching. The Ayudantes usually speak a little English and the NGO also pays for them to go to college at weekends.’

World Challenge supports the UN International Year of Forests 2011

The World Challenge website is now displaying the IYOF logo in support of the UN awareness campaign, promoting the importance of forests to people around the world.

As a company, we have been actively involved with environmental projects for several years, working closely with local communities to help promote sustainable development and resource use. On top of other environmental projects around the world this year, World Challenge have committed additional funding and manpower in Kenya and Tanzania to ensure that every person climbing Mt Kenya & Mt Kilimanjaro will plant a tree on the slopes of the mountains. This will help combat the deforestation in the area and minimise the damage this causes to local communities.

Peru sustainable project

To coincide with the re-branding of our Northern Peru expedition to ‘Andes & Amazon’ we have recently secured an exciting link up with an environmental project in the Tarapoto area. We have been awarded additional sustainable project funding to support this initiative for the next 3 years, starting in 2011. This gives us a great opportunity to build on the platform established by previous World Challenge teams who have visited the area. The project is focussed on the Cumbaza River watershed, part of the Amazon basin. This is located in San Martin, the most deforested region in Peru.

In conjunction with our project coordinator, Rodrigo Ponce we are part of an initiative to promote ecotourism and teach environmental techniques, such as permaculture in local communities. Several communal reserves will also be created in order to protect the rich biodiversity of the area. I visited the community of San Roque de Cumbaza on recce and the area is stunning - a truly magnificent setting for a World Challenge project!

If you need any more information on this exciting project please don’t hesitate to contact us

Chris, Expedition Planning Manager, South America

Earth Hour

World Challenge continues to look at ways to reduce its impact on the environment and help combat climate change. This Saturday, the world is invited to take part in Earth hour, where lights are switched off around the globe to help save electricity and give the earth a break. Earlier in the year World Challenge switched to green energy so that electricity in our head office now comes from sustainable sources, and World Challenge is now supporting Earth Hour by shutting down all non-essential office equipment, and encouraging staff to switch off lights in their homes at 20:30pm. Follow these links for more information on Earth Hour, how you can get involved, and what World Challenge do both in the UK and overseas.

Earth Hour
World Challenge's sustainabily work

Brilliant World Challenge project in Zambia

In 2010 Sir Henry Floyd headed to World Challenge project in Zambia and completed their project phase near Monze in the Southern Province of Zambia. They set out to help complete a house that the school were building which they would rent out and use the money generated to pay for pre-school teachers.

The team put the roof on, the doors in, laid the floor and put the windows in. As well as this they painted parts of the school and planted a vegetable garden. Since the team left the project hosts have got in touch and have shared how the project work has made a difference to them and the community.


Pictures are of Sister Racheal and the school children. The half built house before Sir Henry went to do their project work.

This is what Sister Racheal had to say: “The St, Mary’s people are very grateful for your thoughtfulness and love you have for them. They had a big celebration, its all because of you nice people over there. We have managed to send some of our children from pre -school to grade one at St Mary’s Basic school , and we have also enrolled more. The garden is doing fine with plenty of vegetables, tomatoes, onions and spinach. The rain is pouring almost every day people are very busy in their fields. The house you built next week will be put on rent one of the teachers from St Marys will occupy it. The money will be used towards the payments of the teachers for the pre-school.”

Recce ted in the media

Durham and Hermitage School organised a bag collection for their World Challenge India, Borneo and Tanzania expeditions. World Challenge sent Recce ted along with the school’s mascots to see where the collection ends up.

Late flight at Terminal 1 poem

Late flight at Terminal 1

The rush has left,
The terminal is asleep.
Only the murmur of the air conditioning;
And the hushed chatter of the human mislaid,
Disturb its slumber.

The public flotsam gathers amongst the seats.
Mounds of clothes in the attitude of sleep.
Lost souls who’ve missed their connections,
Wait out the early hours;
In the empty terminal.

Swaths of linoleum floor,
Stretch empty into the polished distance,
Dotted with mortal monoliths,
Arms folded in impatient waiting;
For the late B914.

The buzz of chatter;
And increased excitement,
As Landed, arrived and baggage in hall;
Show on the arrivals board.
Reunions soon.

The arrivals doors are willed open;
In eagerness of glimpses of loved ones.
Joyful shouts as Challengers are spotted.
Tearful hugs and kisses;
As the wait is over.


A poem by a member of World Challenge staff meeting a World Challenge team coming back from expedition in the summer of 2010.